Landlords to require planning permission for shared housing

News Category: Legal

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Landlords will now have to apply for planning permission if they want to rent out a house to three or more unrelated people.

Local councils will now have the power to manage the number of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in towns and cities.

If a landlord wants to amend a family home into a HMO, for example for student accommodation, they will have to apply to their local council from April 2010.

Housing minister John Healey also announced plans to set up a National Landlords Register to give tenants advice and information about their landlords.

He said: "Private landlords play a big part in meeting the housing needs of millions so I want to raise the standards and stamp out the worst landlords that drag down the reputation of the rest."

A recent report from Paragon Mortgages found only one in ten landlords were planning to increase their property portfolios and this addition to the legislation they must adhere to may further put landlords off buying houses.

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