Deregulating planning control over Britain’s housing stock

• Author: Robert Home
• Position: Law School, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
• Pages: 193-206

Deregulating planning control

over Britain’s housing stock

Robert Home

Law School, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK

Abstract

Purpose –To apply path dependence theory and analysis to the regulatoryframework for private-rented

housing in Britain, especially affectinghouses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and addressing the increased

involvementof the planning system through planning useclasses, permitted development rights andArticle 4

directions.

Design/methodology/approach –This paper identifies critical junctures in primary and secondary

legislation for housing and planning and analyses individual local authority responses in planning policy

documentsand tribunal decisions.

Findings –The rise of the HMO reflects wider changes in society leading to new formsof household and

inter-generational inequalities. Local authority discretion and locked-in responses have resulted in different

regulatory regimes for housing and planning, recently favouring existing communities of owner-occupiers

againstHMO residents, seen as transient populations not committed to the neighbourhood.

Research limitations/implications –Potential for further research on demographics and household

formation,and on reviewing planning and appeal decisionsinvolving HMOs.

Originality/value –The research is apparentlythe first specifically addressing planning regulation of the

HMO from a path dependence perspective,in the context of planning protection of the single-family dwelling

house and marginalizationof other forms of housing.

Keywords Regulation, Planning, PDR, Deregulation, Dwelling house, HMO

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Global population growth and international migration are increasing the demand for

housing of all types and causing changes in tenure patterns and physical forms. With

lower-income groups and transient populations less likely to be housed in new-build

housing, pressure increases uponthe existing private rental sector, leading to new informal

living arrangements and physical adaptations of the stock. In the UK, a long-running crisis

of house-building has worsened since the financial crisis of 2008-2009, and the title of the

2017 White Paper expresses current political uncertainties –Fixing Our Broken Housing

Market (DCLG, 2017).

This documentprimarily concerned how to stimulatenew house-building, so as to get the

rate up to 250,000or 300,000 new units annually,figures that derived from a report prepared

over 10 years ago (Barker, 2004). The White Paper had, however, little to say on the

contributionof existing housingand building stock, includingsuch general statementsas:

[...] make renting fairer for tenants, take action to promote transparency and fairness for the

growing number of leaseholders, encourage the development of housing that meets the needs of

our future population, and[...] a sustainable and workable approach to funding supported

housing in the future (DCLG, 2017, p. 4).

The author acknowledges the help of the National Landlord Association and of my student guide.

Deregulating

planning

control

193

Received14 July 2017

Accepted20 July 2017

InternationalJournal of Law in the

BuiltEnvironment

Vol.9 No. 3, 2017

pp. 193-206

© Emerald Publishing Limited

1756-1450

DOI 10.1108/IJLBE-07-2017-0024

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