In a bid to curb the proliferation of HMOs, Sutton City Council has withdrawn permitted development rights, which allowed owners to convert properties into smaller HMOs without obtaining permission from the local council.
Councilor Jake Short (pictured), chair of Sutton's housing, economy and business committee, assured residents that the council was not opposed to HMOs. 
important role
He acknowledged that they play a key role in solving the borough's housing crisis, “providing affordable accommodation and meeting diverse housing needs”.
But he added that planning rules needed to be complied with, and there was limited local input before large homes were converted to HMOs, resulting in too many family homes being lost. I was concerned about the situation.
Future proposals for HMOs will be scrutinized by the council. ”
He said: “This Article 4 direction will ensure that any future proposals for HMOs will be scrutinized by councils against all relevant planning policies, ensuring consistency in decisions.” Ta.
“HMOs that will be permitted by council in the future will be of high quality and will not have a negative impact on local areas.”
But he admitted the most immediate impact of the rule changes would be a sudden increase in the number of planning applications to Sutton's already busy planning department.
As reported in The Neg, a growing number of councils are taking similar measures, including Walsall and Merton, as well as many student towns such as Brighton, Oxford and Cambridge.
