Tory leader slated in row over changes to shared housing status

News Category: Industry News

An astonishing political row has blown up over the change in rules on shared housing, by which properties newly let out to between three and six unrelated people are classified as Houses in Multiple Occupation which require planning permission.

The change in planning use law came in on April 6 and is set to cause major problems for landlords and agents. On top of having to apply for planning permission, landlords may also need to apply for HMO licences. The changes will also affect householders who take in more than two lodgers.

David Cameron signed an Early Day Motion calling for the new requirement to be scrapped – an indication of what the Tories would do if they win the election.

But Labour’s John Denham, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, insisted that the change had been strongly supported by people in his Southampton constituency.

He accused Cameron of “doing favours for the National Landlords Association rather than listening to residents’ concerns”.

He said Cameron was guilty of a  “devious misuse of the parliamentary process, apparently at the behest of the National Landlords Association”.

The NLA, which is only one of the bodies lobbying hard to get the law changed, described Denham’s comments as ‘extraordinary’.

David Salusbury, NLA chairman, said: “This smacks of electioneering. John Denham has been vociferous in his campaign against shared housing. This law was rushed through Parliament without a chance for debate, excluding MPs from having a say on this ill-thought-out policy. It would have been more honest for John Denham to make the case for this change in Parliament, rather than avoiding debate.”
 
The Labour Matters blog post quoting Denham can be read here



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