Normally our April issue contains an article that is perfectly credible but untrue. Our April Fool tradition goes back to at least 2010. However, as the last year has been unbelievable, it should come as no surprise that this 'April Fool' substitute is the reverse – it is totally incredible but true. Here it is: Anyone can create an HMO anywhere without worrying about planning permission, property standards, facilities or the need for a licence.
Portsmouth has an 'article 4' direction which means no one can create an HMO without planning approval. For the purpose of this explanation, an HMO is any dwelling occupied by 3 or more unrelated people and 'creating' an HMO means change the use of a dwelling from a family house or other usage to that of an HMO. To get planning approval, you need to meet certain criteria – like no more than 10% of other dwellings in the nearby area can be HMO's and you need a specified amount of shared space as well as having rooms that meet minimum sizes.
As in all things, there are multiple government departments and they appear to work independently. We have long complained about inconsistencies between planning and licensing or the fact that the definition of an HMO differs between not just these 2 departments but the one that deals with council tax too.
The amount of council tax you pay is determined by the 'band' into which a dwelling is placed. A large family house may be banded as 'D' and charged more than a small flat which may be banded as 'A'. These bandings are determined by a central government department known as the Valuation Office Agency,. This all sounds logical apart from a few anomalies. For example, most people think the process is that the VOA decide on a 'rateable value' for a property and then, based on this, place it into the appropriate 'band' for council tax purposes. However, we know of many council properties which are classed as 'Band A' which means they pay the lowest council tax but their rateable values are higher than 'Band D' properties in the same area. This may not affect council tax but it means the residents are paying considerably more for water and sewerage than their wealthier neighbours living in large family houses, as water and sewerage charges are based on rateable value.We understand that local councillors agree this is a ridiculous idea but none were available for comment. It is also being raised on our behalf in Parliament by Portsmouth North MP, Penny Mordaunt.
Martin began his landlord journey 15 years ago, while working in an international role for a global telecommunications company. Since retiring he has extended his portfolio, which he manages with his wife, but has always focussed on the ‘small student HMO’ sector preferring to offer homes in the community for small groups to the more common ‘pack them in and take the money’ mentality. He has chaired the PDPLA for the past 6 years and has overseen the Associations transition from small local self-help group to a much larger and more professional institution which is recognised and listened to nationally. Alongside his PDPLA role, he also has leadership roles in a number of other local organisations – bringing his unique perspective, driving for change and increased use of technology while respecting the history that brought us here.
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