An update will be provided on the previously reported consultation on Homes in Multiple Occupancy.
Minutes:
Anne Provan, Planning, Leicester City Council referred to the Council’s Student Housing Supplementary Planning document, and the reference to the long-term use of lettings boards (To Let) on rented properties.
It was recognised that a lot of students lived in shared housing. Anne said the Council was considering the implementation of an Article 4 Direction which would give a level of control to the Council on the number of shared houses in the city, and would apply to all shared housing, not just students. The effect of an Article 4 Direction would be to remove permitted development rights to convert accommodation into shared housing, and would apply to all properties occupied by 3-6 people not related (of the same family). Shared accommodation of seven or more people already required planning permission. The implementation of an Article 4 Direction would only apply to new development and not existing shared accommodation, or where two people were sharing.
Anne said the Council had looked at the areas with the highest concentration of students. Anne said 27% of the properties in Castle Ward were occupied by students. She added that the figure around the Walnut Street area (the ‘Nut’ and ‘Lake’ streets) rose to 34%, but did not include the purpose built properties.
Anne said a report would go to the Planning Committee, and if agreed the Council would go out to consultation over the next few weeks. She said if people agreed to continue with the Article 4 Direction, it would confirmed in place, though a legal process would need to be followed. She added that notice of its implementation would be placed in the Council’s, public notices in the Leicester Mercury, and on lampposts in the specific areas targeted in the city, where the problem was already perceived, and would come into force about a year later.
Anne then discussed the over-concentration of ‘To Let’ boards in Castle Ward, which were very often in situ all year round. She said the Council was looking to introduce a Regulation 7 Direction which would bring the ‘To Let’ boards under planning control within areas with a high concentration of Homes of Multiple Occupancy and a high concentration of students.
Anne said estate agents would have to apply for planning permission every time they wanted to put a board up, and the length of time they were in place would be restricted, and could only be up if there were vacancies. Estate agents would be required to remove the boards 14 days after being let. She said if there were still problems, it would be an opportunity for Leicester City Council to prosecute as it would be a breach of planning permissions. She added that it would be a huge amount of work for the Council and would have to be evidence based.
Anne said firstly the Council was looking to introduce a voluntary code for estate agents, with the message that it was not alright to put up boards all year. She added that if it did not work, it would provide the evidence to say that stronger planning control was needed. She added the Council had prepared a draft Voluntary Code of Practice on Letting Boards, and was being consulted on through the Council’s website. Anne said the idea was it would be a self-policing method, and there had been some calls from estate agents to bring in the code.
Councillor Kitterick said difficulties would begin to show when it came to enforcement. He said it was clear lettings companies used the boards as a form of advertisement, and it would be difficult for the Planning Team to track and build up evidence for prosecution, which incurred many hours of officer time, and the money spent was not gained back through prosecution. He added that highly populated student areas created a fractured community, with some areas empty for a third of the year. He said the Article 4 Direction would stop the creation of more houses with a high turnover of population.
Residents believed the figures given were conservative. Anne said the data was gathered for areas and not individual streets from Council Tax data, but students were exempt from paying Council Tax. Anne said that also written into the code would be a period of the year when no boards at all could be used, in recognition that they diminished the value of nearby properties.
The Chair thanked Anne for the information.