BCP Council (Bournemouth): Neil McKeon is pleased to confirm that he has secured a Certificate of Lawfulness for the change of use of a dwelling to a House in Multiple Occupancy (HMO) in Winton. Whilst converted without the benefit of planning permission, a Certificate of Lawfulness can be secured to confirm the use had occurred for 4 years prior to the submission of the application.

Based on the evidence presented, which included tenancy agreements and extensive domestic installation and condition reports, the Planning Officer accepted that the use had occurred continuously over the requisite 4 year timeframe. As such, the Local Planning Authority deemed the HMO change of use as being lawful.

If you have a HMO which was converted without planning permission, you may be eligible to secure a Certificate of Lawfulness of an Existing Use or Development to regularise the situation. If so, here at Pure Town Planning we would be happy to assist in verifying the evidence to the Local Planning Authority. Contact us at info@puretownplanning.co.uk or call us on 01202 585524 for a free appraisal from one of the team.