Issue - meetings

To consider a Certificate of lawfulness for use as a 7 bedroom HMO (Use Class Sui-Generis).

It was RESOLVED: That the application 23/00618/CLEU be DEFERRED for the following reasons:

·         To seek a formal opinion from the Borough Solicitor regarding the evidence submitted in relation to GDPR laws.

·         To investigate the evidence further, including in relation to the length of time the property had been used as an HMO.

The Committee considered a report in respect of application 23/00618/CLEU seeking a Certificate of Lawfulness for (existing use) for the use of a property as a 7-bed House of Multiple Occupation (Use Class Sui-Generis).

The Principal Planning Officer informed Members that this application was for a large HMO and was slightly different from Item 9 as it was for more than 6 people and therefore was in a planning use class of its own. This application did not benefit from permitted rights and needed planning permission originally to become a large HMO. The applicant was seeking a lawful development certificate to determine if it had been operating as a large HMO for at least 10 or more consecutive years. Evidence had been submitted to prove it had been in use for more than 10 years which included:

·         A statement of truth from the owner.

·         A statement of truth from the builder who also handled the maintenance.

·         Tenancy agreements which dated back to 2011.

·         An HMO licence obtained in 2018.

The property was currently being used as a large house of multiple occupancy with 7 bedrooms. It was deemed that the evidence successfully demonstrated continuity in excess of 10 years and met the relevant tests. The Principal Planning Officer added that a certificate application for this property was refused earlier in the year due to a lack of evidence. The applicant had provided further evidence and on the basis of this additional evidence, it was considered to meet the test on the balance of probability.

The debate on this Item was considered with Item 9 above.

It was RESOLVED: That the application 23/00618/CLEU be DEFERRED for the following reasons:

·         To seek a formal opinion from the Borough Solicitor regarding the evidence submitted in relation to GDPR laws.

·         To investigate the evidence further, including in relation to the length of time the property had been used as an HMO.