Developer hoping to confirm property’s HMO status

A developer has applied for a certificate of lawfulness for a HMO (house in multiple occupation) in central Newport.

Planning documents show applicant Nilsson Residentials Ltd wants to formally establish the use of 3 Powells Place as a HMO under modern planning classifications.

To do so, the developer must show the property has been in unchanged use as a HMO for the past ten years, a supporting statement by agents LRM Planning explains.

HMOs are typically properties for between three and six single, unrelated adults who have their own private bedrooms but share other communal areas.

In this case, documents show the property has two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom on the ground floor, while upstairs, there is another bathroom and three more bedrooms.

In the application, the agent reports the property has been a HMO since February 2012.

The application is currently out for consultation, and can be viewed on the Newport City Council website under reference 26/0606.