Family homes need our protection

Like many local authorities, we have seen family houses being replaced by informal shared housing arrangements with a high turnover of occupiers. A total of 1,000 dwellings a year in this authority have been converted to this kind of use with the attendant negative effects on our neighbourhoods.

We therefore fully support the three main proposals because they are matters that we have raised in the past, with a view to protecting communities from these unregulated and damaging effects of the housing market.

While changes to the planning use classes order with respect to houses in multiple occupation is not proposed to be made retrospectively, the new requirement to seek planning permission to change a family home to a house with three or more unrelated tenants should stem further significant losses of family accommodation for this authority. We look forward to the introduction of a national landlords’ register as a way of informing parties of their right and responsibilities and raising standards across the sector.

Finally as one of 12 authorities with an approved selective licensing designation, we welcome the consultation on providing an easier consent route to further licensing designations for the private rented sector.

We fully support the ministerial view that decisions on the quality of rented homes should be made by local communities and their elected representatives.

Sir Robin Wales, mayor of the London Borough of Newham