Residents ready to welcome rule change which will control number of shared houses across city

NEW planning powers in Derby are set to come into force this week which aim to reduce the problems on city streets caused by excessive numbers of bedsits (HMOs).

- By NIGEL SLATER

Derby City Council says it is "on track" to implement tighter rules on HMOs from Saturday after complaints that such properties are the cause of parking problems, anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping.

Tougher rules will mean landlords will need planning permission to convert any home into an HMO.

Currently, within the Derby City Council boundary, any shared home intended to house seven individual occupants or more needs planning permission - but not if the occupancy number is six or less.

The new laws will apply to these areas in Derby: all of Arboretum ward and parts of Abbey, Alvaston North, Darley, Mackworth, New Zealand, Normanton, Sinfin and Osmaston within the ring road.

It comes after a campaign petition by Arboretum resident Sassi Stark called on the council to launch an Article 4 direction to protect city streets. This was followed by a full investigation by the council to examine the impact of having too many HMOs in one area.

Miss Stark claimed the council allowing so many HMOs to go through the system without plan ning permission was causing major problems on the streets such as lack of parking, anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping, as well as the deterioration of buildings.