Appeals and Law

A common theme – Property turned into flats collecting the highest housing benefit rent as self-contained accommodation whilst claiming that the property is a HMO, which would attract a much lower housing benefit rate, in order to avoid planning regs.

Properties flats, not HMO’s. Appellant had attempted to circumvent planning rules by removing tenants’ doors to create ‘shared’ bathrooms.

9 convictions for unlawful advertisement displays, including left over steel poles.

Unlawfully demolished house must be rebuilt in facsimile or according to planning permission.

3 houses had been converted into flats rather than HMO’s as the appellant argued.

HMO use not immune from enforcement action but appellant used deliberate and positive deception in any event.

3 Defendants guilty of failing to comply with an Enforcement Notice requiring them to cease the use of a property as flats following evidence from Nigel Wicks.

LPA entitled to recover costs following aborted s178 direct action from land owner and the merits of employing specialists such as Enforcement Services.

Change of use to flats no HMO

Change of use to flats no HMO

The court accepts the measurements undertaken by Mr. Wicks, as it is the volume of the new hoarding, its movement forward from the flank wall and the additional steel supports that are clearly demonstrated by the photographs in Exhibit 4 at pages numbered 32, 134, 235 and 236 that is a three fold increase on the Trivision hoarding volume

Shed for bed.

Change of use from 6 to 10 flats