18/06/2010 - Government aims to help landlords
The Government is changing recently introduced legislation to help landlords rent out shared properties.
Housing minister Grant Shapps said the Government will change legislation introduced in April, which meant landlords needed planning permission to rent out a property to three or more people who were not family.
The new proposals will allow individual councils to decide which areas will require landlords to apply for planning permission to rent out shared accommodation that houses a number of tenants.
A high concentration of shared homes occupied by short-term tenants, such as students, can be seen to be a nuisance as it leaves businesses struggling out of term time.
The Government said the move would enable local authorities to control where there were high concentrations of shared homes, and reduce costs and red tape for landlords.
It is thought that up to 8,500 planning applications a year would have to be submitted by landlords if they needed to obtain planning permission for every property that was let out to multiple tenants.
Mr Shapps said: "I'm not going to create unnecessary costs for landlords, which puts the supply of rented homes at risk."
The move, which should come into force in the autumn, was welcomed by trade bodies.
David Salusbury, chairman of the National Landlords Association, said: "We are pleased to see the new Government responding to calls to rethink these unnecessary planning burdens on landlords."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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