Planning Advisory Service (PAS) Logo
Planning Advisory Service (PAS)
Open group | Started - July 2012 | Last activity - April

Adding Rooms to Sui Generis HMO - Do I Need PP

Former Member, modified 8 Years ago.

Adding Rooms to Sui Generis HMO - Do I Need PP

 

I have acquired a 7-bedroom HMO; having furnished the council with a set of prior tenancy agreements, I now have a Certificate of Lawful Use confirming 'prior use as a HMO for up to 7 individuals (sui generis use)', and the First Schedule refers to 'use of the house as an HMO for up to 7 individuals (sui generis use).'

Do I require PP to add further bedrooms to this property - the property can amply support two further bedrooms whilst meeting all individual and common area room size requirements, there will also be no external works required, the footprint of the property will remain unchanged etc?

Or does the broad 'sui generis' category of HMO - already granted within the Certificate of Lawful Use - allow me to add further bedrooms without PP? 

As I understand it, the sui generis category of HMO refers to those HMOs for more than 6 individuals. However, the Certificate refers to UP TO 7 people rather than 7 OR MORE people. Is this a deliberate restriction on the scale of 'sui generis' HMO which will now require PP to add bedrooms?

Any help appreciated.

  

Paul Jobson, modified 8 Years ago.

RE: Adding Rooms to Sui Generis HMO - Do I Need PP

New Member Posts: 4 Join Date: 01/10/15 Recent Posts

No you need planning permission to go from 7 to 8 or 9 bedrooms.

 

thanks

Paul

Former Member, modified 8 Years ago.

RE: Adding Rooms to Sui Generis HMO - Do I Need PP

 

Paul,

Thanks for your response. So, as I understand it, PP is no longer required to switch a property from residential (C3) to 4-6 unrelated people (C4) status - a very obvious and potentially Material Change of Use.

But PP is required to add 1 or 2 bedrroms to an existing Sui Generis 7-bedroom property - a change which does not at first glance suggest a MCU?

The HMO density calculations (# HMOs/(# residential + # HMOs) do not appear to differentiate between small & large HMOs - so, as I see it, there will be no change to such calculations as a result of adding a couple of bedrooms to an existing 7-bedroom HMO.

What are likely to be the key points to address in any such PP application - provision for refuse, bicycles, room sizes etc?

Thanks for any further advice/comments.

David

 

 

Given that there are no external changes required to the building