HMO to Flats - resulting in a NET loss? - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

A quandary I am trying to find some thoughts on - In the case of a 17 bedroom HMO becoming 7 flats, do we need to count as a loss in the amount of dwellings? The HMO pre-dates the change to the HDT that allows Communal Accommodation to be considered, so we never had the 'benefit' of the positive dwelling numbers. However the 17 room HMO counts as 9.4 dwellings, and so the change to 7 flats will leave us with a deficit. Do we just have to take this loss on the chin?