The National Landlords Association (NLA), which had been lobbying the Government on HMO regulation, says it is delighted that the Government is looking to end blanket shared housing planning regulations in favour of a more targeted approach.

Local authorities will need to tailor recent shared housing planning rule changes to areas where high concentrations of shared housing are causing problems. The Government announcement of a consultation is designed to ensure new rules work effectively for local people without placing an unnecessary burden on landlords and local planning authorities. The current need for landlords to apply for planning permission for their shared rental properties continues to cause major confusion across the UK.
However, until the consultation is complete, the NLA is calling for local authorities to implement the current planning rules carefully so that they do not inadvertently decrease the availability of accommodation.

David Salusbury, Chairman, NLA, said, “It is clear this Government understands the contribution landlords make to providing accommodation. Unnecessary costs and red tape only serve to detract from this core activity and we welcome moves to tackle such disincentives to further investment. The change in the law for shared housing was rushed and its implementation by councils has created confusion. We are pleased to see the new Government responding to calls to rethink these unnecessary burdens on landlords. It is important local authorities continue to engage with landlord organisations like the NLA to help tackle the problems associated with some HMOs, rather than trying to impose rules which seriously limit this form of housing.”

Judienne Wood, Lettings Director at Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward was also pleased with the announcement;
“We are delighted that the government has acted so quickly and has seen the sense by changing the planning rules for HMOs. They were an unnecessary expense and ultimately discouraged the landlord from letting out their property to professional sharers. This revision in legislation will stop the number of properties available for sharers shrinking, in a market when property stock is already at an all time low.”