From summer landlords across Birmingham who wants to turn the property into a house in multiple occupation for up to six people will need formal planning permission from the council.
Birmingham City Council report earlier this year stated there were approximately 6,000 HMOs across the city. It is claimed that they cause a rise in crime and parking problems due to the number of residents.
Councillor Alden said: “This is something we have been calling for for years so I am absolutely delighted that the council has dropped its resistance to our proposals and accepted our arguments about the damage the proliferation of HMOs is doing to our suburbs. It is also important to remember many of the HMO’s created currently have rooms which are far below minimum standards and would never meet approval if they had to go through the planning process.
“This is about ensuring people have decent standard accommodation to live in as well as protecting the character of Birmingham’s mature suburbs.”
The council would look to reject applications for HMOs accounting for 10% of homes in a 100-metre radius.
Those people who are against the move claimed it could limit the availability of housing, cause rent costs to increase and discriminate against students and young people. But council officers dismissed the objections and stated it would avoid huge concentrations of HMOs.
Councillor Sharon Thompson, said: “This is a huge move for Birmingham. This administration is doing a lot of focused work on the private rented sector at the moment because we know the adverse effects that it is having on people in every-day communities, particularly where there is a high concentration of HMOs. We can’t do anything about the historical (concentrations) but this will help moving forward.”
HMO Planning is the formal permission from a local authority or council, for the erection or alteration of buildings or similar development, for the use class HMO, C4 (Small HMO) or Sui Generis HMO (Large HMO)… read more