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 With Portsmouth creating a self-induced homelessness crisis and threatening to remove over 1,000 HMO rooms (see our HMO Standards article) and demand for shared accommodation higher than it has ever been, we are predicting HMO median rents to rise 45%. (See our 'Economics of HMO's' paper for full explanation).

The trouble is, if you want to cash in on this you will find it hard to create an HMO which meets the city's rules – so this article explains 4 simple ways to completely legally create an HMO to ensure you can benefit from this growing market.

Prompted by the unrepresentative  lobby group, the East St. Thomas Residents Forum, PCC took enforcement action against the institutional investment company that owned 6 HMOs occupied by 7 students. PCC argued that they were operating without planning permission.  The decision of the Appeal Judge went against PCC and could mean that many, many of their recent decisions need to be revisited.

At our January meeting, Jonathan McDermott of TPX told us of the updates to permitted development which would, in the example I gave then, allow a property owner to add 2 storeys in the middle of a block however daft and incongruous it may look. My example was the block in Arundel Street, Portsmouth which had one 'mid-terrace' shop/office available which would have met the criteria. That one has not come to planning yet but just across the road, the site of the old U Need Us shop is to get the same treatment, with a conversion to residential and 2 stories added – we will watch with interest to see its progress through the system.  

We are hoping to have Jonathan McDermott from TPX at our next meeting but we are still working the details. Whether we manage to get him or not, we thought you would like to see his summary of the year, taken from his Facebook post... 

It was no surprise when the Serviced Accommodation and Holiday Let sectors bombed during lockdown, but local landlords have been waiting with bated breath to see who suffered in the wider market - especially those of us who are student landlords.

Now we know the answer, it was the top end of the independent student halls market,  with the Registry in St Michaels Rd and the old library in Elm Grove both filing for change of use from student halls to interim accommodation for the homeless.

The problem: As soon as an HMO property drops below the C4 threshold it becomes a C3. No planning permission is required to go in this direction, but you will need it to go back to C4.

Some years ago, Portsmouth City Council (PCC) enacted an 'Article 4 Direction' requiring planning permission for new HMOs. This overrides the usual permitted development rights a landlord has to use a normal residential property as either a non-HMO, (C3 use class i.e. family type residence) or an HMO occupied by unrelated sharers (C4 use class). There are many HMOs that do not have or require planning permission as they have been in continuous HMO use since November 1st 2011 when the Direction commenced.

The planning enforcement team are currently writing to landlords asking them for proof of continuous use - do you know what you need to do?  Have you kept records to show how your property has been used?