Prestonians are being asked to give their views on proposals to try and restrict the number of houses of multiple occupation in the city.
More than 900 HMOs are thought to be operating in the city’s boundaries at present, as reported back in March last year.
At the moment planning rules mean it is straightforward for the conversion of a house, known as a class C3, to become a house of multiple occupation, known as a class C4, in many parts of Preston.
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In August last year, the city council’s Labour-controlled cabinet approved the plan which would tighten the rules around which conversions of properties to a house share to would need planning permission.
A house of multiple occupation is classed as a property where three or more people from different households live together and share amenities such as a kitchen and bathroom.
National planning rules mean only those proposed HMOs that would have seven or more bedrooms need the green light from local councils – with smaller-scale facilities being classed automatically as ‘permitted development’.
Preston has enacted an opt out from that arrangement since 2012 by insisting on formal approval for all sizes of house share in the neighbourhoods where they are most common – specifically, most of Plungington and parts of the Frenchwood and Fishwick, City Centre, Deepdale and Ashton wards.
Now the city council wants to expand the areas governed by tighter HMO rules to cover nearly all of the city’s boundary with the exception of more rural areas. The map below shows the area which would be covered by the new HMO rules, if approved.
Cabinet member for planning and regulation councillor Amber Afzal said: “There is evidence that there are too many HMOs in the city, more than are necessary to meet local needs. This has an impact on residents’ quality of life and reduces the supply of much-needed family accommodation.
“The Council is therefore consulting on introducing additional controls to limit the number of new HMOs through the planning process, and we encourage the public to have their say on our consultation to feedback on the proposed approach.”
A previous consultation, which ran between February and March last year, had 25 responses with 79 per cent of those in favour of tightening the rules on HMOs.
A new consultation on the proposal – known as an Article 4 Direction – has now begun with people asked to give their views on the city council’s website and the consultation will run until Thursday 19 March.
Copies of all the documents are available at the Town Hall as well as at The Harris library, Ribbleton library, Savick library, Sharoe Green library and Fulwood library.
The earliest the new HMO rules would come into place would be Monday 15 February 2027 if approved by full council and pending the outcome of the consultation.
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