Summary: Mr X complained the Council was taking too long to investigate complaints about unlawful houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in its area. We found fault because there was unreasonable delay in enforcement investigations. The Council has agreed to a remedy, to resolve the injustice caused by the fault we found.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has taken too long to investigate his complaints about the increase of unlawful houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in his area.
2. Mr X says the growth of HMO numbers is affecting residential amenity in his area.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I read the complaint and discussed it with Mr X and a planning manager. I read the Council’s response to the complaint and considered documents from its planning files, including the plans and the case officer’s report.
6. I gave Mr X and the Council an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered the comments I received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Planning law and guidance

7. Not all development requires planning permission from local planning authorities. Certain developments are deemed permitted, providing they fall within limits set within regulations. This type of development is known as ‘permitted development’.
8. There are permitted development regulations that control houses in multiple occupation (HMO). An HMO is a property rented to at least three people who are not from one household but share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom. Permitted development regulations allow for HMOs to become dwelling houses, and dwelling houses to become HMOs providing certain conditions are met.
9. However, permitted development rights can be removed to create a ‘Conservation Area’. This allows councils to exert tighter control of development, so a planning application would be needed to change the use of a dwelling house to/from an HMO.
10. Planning enforcement is discretionary and formal action should happen only when it would be a proportionate response to the breach. When deciding whether to enforce, councils should consider the likely impact of harm to the public and whether they might grant approval if they were to receive an application for the development or use. Government guidance encourages councils to resolve issues through negotiation and dialogue with developers.
11. It is important that there is not unreasonable delay in the planning enforcement process, because effective enforcement helps maintain public confidence in the planning system.

What happened

12. Mr X lives in an area near where there is a large demand for student accommodation. Mr X says that in recent years, there has been a rapid growth of HMOs in the area. He said he reported a large number of houses he thought were unlawful to the Council’s planning enforcement department but became frustrated with the lack of progress.
13. In response to Mr X’s complaint, the Council accepted there was a problem that was partly caused by a number of factors, including:
• responsibility for monitoring small HMOs had switched from environmental health to planning enforcement;
• a backlog of cases caused during the COVID-19 pandemic;
• the department has limited staff resources, so the sudden increases in case numbers inevitably caused challenges.
14. The Council said that a planning officer had been seconded to the planning enforcement team and had begun working on the backlog of HMO cases.

My findings

15. The Council has accepted that there are unacceptable delays in dealing with new HMO cases, resulting in its current backlog. This delay is fault, and when we find fault, we must determine what injustice it caused. We can recommend remedies to resolve the injustice caused by the fault.
16. The fault has caused frustration and disappointment to Mr X who has been waiting for the outcome of the enforcement investigations.
17. I recommended a remedy for the injustice caused by the fault I have found, and the Council has agreed to carry it out. Mr X said he is glad the Council has already begun to resolve the problem, and he looks forward to continued improvements and getting updates from the Council on his planning enforcement complaints.

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Agreed action

18. To resolve the injustice caused by the fault I have found, the Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X for the frustration and disappointment caused by the delays in investigating breaches of planning control. It will do this within one month from the date of our final decision.
19. The Council agreed to monitor and review its plan to deal with its backlog of enforcement cases, to ensure it is adequately resourced. It will do this within three months from the date of our final decision.
20. The Council will report our findings and its progress in reducing the backlog of cases to the Council’s Growth and Regeneration committee. The committee may, at its discretion, decide whether it needs to continue to check progress in reducing the case backlog. The Council will confirm that this has happened within 3 months from the date of our final decision.

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Final decision

21. I found fault because there was delay in investigating planning enforcement complaints. I have completed my investigation because the Council accepted my recommendations.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman