New HMO ruling is a bad measure, says RLA

A new ruling regarding houses in multiple occupancy (HMO) is the realisation of landlords' "worst fears", it has been claimed.

As of April this year landlords will need to apply for planning permission if they wish to change the use of a property from a family home to an HMO with three or more unrelated tenants.

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) said the ruling is "totally impractical".

Alan Ward, the organisation's chairman, said: "It is a bad measure on two grounds. First of all it is totally impractical and secondly, it is social engineering because planning law has never been about who can live where – it is always about the use of the building."

The ruling could have a significant impact on the private rented sector as a recently-published report from PropertyEarth.net revealed that three-bedroom properties account for 57 per cent of landlords' purchases.

According to the report smaller properties are less popular with 15 per cent of landlords searching for two-bedroom properties and just two per cent in the hunt for one-bedroom homes.

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