House in multiple occupation planning laws for shared homes with three to five unrelated tenants will stay the same after a group of local council lose their legal challenge on appeal.
The Court of Appeal in London rejected their claim that Housing Minister Grant Shapps did not consult properly with local councils before changing the rules in October 2010.
The planning requirements for small HMOs with three to five tenants are:
• No planning permission is needed in the majority of local council areas in England
• If the council has invoked an Article 4 direction under the Town and Country Planning Act, planning permission is needed
Milton Keynes Council, supported by Oxford City Council and Newcastle City Council, complained that Shapps made an unfair decision to reverse planning laws passed by the outgoing Labour government in April 2010.
In April, the case was rejected by the High Court after a judicial review, so the council went to appeal.
The Court of Appeal backed the High Court’s decision, telling the council that they had plenty of time to object and the minister had considered their opinion before making his ruling.
"In that consultation, over a longer period, Milton Keynes and all local planning authorities were given an opportunity to make representations on a series of options, which included that subsequently adopted by the secretary of state in September 2010," the Court of Appeal said.
"The secretary of state was minded to make the orders challenged notwithstanding the strong, articulated objections to them by local planning authorities, of which he was aware. The decision to make them was a political decision which the secretary of state was entitled to make."
About 30 councils out of around 200 are subject to Article
4 HMO planning restrictions.
The case does not affect existing HMOs or separate laws requiring landlords to licence shared houses.
