Council used HMOs it had refused planning permission

A council has been moving people into houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) which its own planners had refused permission to operate.

At least three properties in the Tuebrook and Kensington areas of Liverpool were used as placements by Liverpool City Council.

The BBC has learned that the council's own housing chiefs were not checking if the properties had planning permission before putting people in them, and are now moving people out of them.

Vitality Homes, which runs the houses, said it had received independent legal advice that suggested "the appropriate documentation was in place for continued HMO use".

Joe Dunne, a Liberal Party councillor for the Tuebrook area of Liverpool, said it was concerning that departments of the council did not seem to be talking to each other about housing issues.

He added: "On one hand, planning is saying 'no', while on the other, housing services are effectively saying 'yes' by continuing to refer people into those same properties.

"Residents in areas like ours already feel the pressure of overconcentration and poor regulation.

"This only reinforces the perception that rules are not being applied consistently, and that some neighbourhoods are being treated as a dumping ground."

In an email to Dunne, council housing director Andrew Leigh said the Clifton Road house had met HMO requirements, but "the checking process did not, however, query the intended use from a planning control perspective".

He added that the council had found two other properties run by Vitality Homes that did not have planning permission and had "started to move residents out of these properties too".

"I have raised my complete dissatisfaction with Vitality Homes for offering properties where the necessary permissions are not in place and I can confirm that the service will be winding down its arrangement with Vitality Homes," Leigh added.

He said the issues had "clearly highlighted a gap in our processes".

Vitality Homes said it had been providing "safe, supported accommodation to more than 2,000 people" on Merseyside since it was formed in 2018.

It said it had been advised when it bought the properties that all the paperwork "to support planning applications for continued HMO use" were in place.

It added it was appealing the decisions to refuse the retrospective planning applications and had "always acted in good faith and on the basis of professional advice in relation to planning requirements".

A Liverpool City Council spokesperson said: "Housing Options team are working with the planning team to ensure that all properties used by Vitality Homes have the correct permissions in place.

"Where, or if, this has been found not to be the case, alternative accommodation is being sought."

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