South Tyneside Council mulling tighter controls to stop new shared houses without permission

Discussions are to be held around potentially withdrawing the permitted development right allowing the change of use of a dwelling house to a small HMO without the need for a planning application.

A HMO is a property occupied by at least three people who are not related but share facilities such as a bathroom and kitchen.

Currently to convert a standard house into a small HMO, which accommodates between 3 and 6 unrelated people, planning permission from South Tyneside Council is not required in the majority of the borough.

However council chiefs are to look at potentially introducing an "Article 4 Direction" within the borough which means this would no longer be the case and planning permission would have to be applied for.

The Lawe Top area in South Shields is already subject to an Article 4 Direction, which has been in place for around 10 years and has been "effective in limiting further new HMOs" according to officers.

The suggestion would be for the council to pursue a "non-immediate Article 4 Direction" covering the remainder of the borough which would give 12 months notice of the move and avoid financial compensation risks for the local authority.

This would allow a public consultation to take place and engagement with residents and stakeholders before any measures were brought in.

A presentation on the proposed move went before the latest meeting of the council's housing and environment scrutiny committee on Wednesday (October 22).

Officers outlined how HMOs provide affordable accommodation for a wide range of groups including professionals, students, and people on low incomes.

However they noted such properties can also "negatively impact residential amenity and the character of an area" through issues such as noise, appearance, refuse management and parking issues.

The presentation to councillors outlined how there has been a "significant increase in small HMOs using national permitted development rights" in the borough, with 22 new HMO licences since January 2023.

Cllr David Kennedy, leader of the authority's South Tyneside Alliance Group, noted he has residents in his ward, Primrose, who have been experiencing issues with HMOs.

Speaking at the meeting, he said: "Seeing the amount of public tension that these HMOs are causing, it's getting quite naughty in some instances.

"I would welcome anything that would bring this into some sort of control."

He added he hopes the council's ruling cabinet "see the good in this and take the opportunity to apply it."

Cllr David Francis, Green group leader on the council, noted although there needs to be measures in place to manage certain issues, HMOs do provide important accommodation for the likes of single people and there are "myths" about it which need to be dispelled.

He added: "Sometimes people assume that all HMOs are used to house people who are just out of prison or have an addiction problem, and in many cases that just isn't what they are."

A report will now go before a meeting of the council's ruling cabinet next month for a decision to be made on whether to progress with the non-immediate Article 4 Direction and the accompanying consultation.