East Suffolk Council
New guidance for applications for Houses in Multiple Occupation
A new planning document has been adopted in East Suffolk to help guide proposals for the conversion of properties to Houses in Multiple Occupation.
East Suffolk Council’s Cabinet has adopted a new planning document which provides guidance as to circumstances which could be considered ‘exceptional’ when owners are proposing to convert properties to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in the former Waveney area.
Policy WLP8.4 of the Waveney Local Plan requires that ‘exceptional circumstances’ are demonstrated for conversions to HMOs but does not provide any further guidance. This new guidance note assists in the understanding of policy WLP8.4 by providing a list of circumstances which could be considered exceptional when an applicant proposes an HMO conversion.
Cllr Mark Packard, East Suffolk cabinet member for Planning and Coastal Management said: “This new guidance note provides clarity for property owners wishing to convert their building into an HMO and outlines the definition of an HMO, explains why planning permission for such conversions is required and also contains a range of useful information relating to licensing, building control and HMO standards.”
The document was subject to public consultation during its preparation and the comments received have helped to inform the final document. A consultation statement, published alongside the guidance note, demonstrates how comments were taken on board.
The guidance note only applies to the former Waveney area, as the former Suffolk Coastal area is covered by the Suffolk Coastal Local Plan which contains its own policy on HMOs, which does not include an ‘exceptional circumstances’ test.
View the Houses in Multiple Occupation ‘Exceptional Circumstances’ Guidance Note, and supporting documents.
Physical copies of the documents are also available at East Suffolk Council’s Customer Service Centres and in all libraries in the Waveney Local Plan area.