Steve McCabe MP is set to have the Second Reading of his Protection of Family Homes (Enforcement and Permitted Development) Bill heard in the Commons this Friday, 28 October 2016.
Steve first introduced his Bill in Parliament in November 2015 after he was inundated with planning complaints about rogue landlords and cowboy builders, an issue that has plagued Selly Oak and parts of the city for many years. Frustrated by the lack of council enforcement action to tackle breaches in planning law, Steve decided to take local residents’ planning plight to Parliament.
Permitted development rights, introduced in 2013, have exacerbated the problem with neighbourhoods blighted with unsightly extensions which are built under the guise of permitted development. Since permitted development has been introduced unscrupulous landlords have been buying up family homes in droves and tacking on unsightly and unsafe extensions to cram as many students in as possible with a view to maximise profits.
The Protection of Family Homes (Enforcement and Permitted Development) Private Members Bill will:
· Require the Department for Communities and Local Government to produce clearer guidance for Planning Authorities on when enforcement action should be taken and it will make it compulsory for local planning authorities to publish a detailed enforcement plan
· Introduce a right of appeal to an independent body when a planning authority decides not to take enforcement action against a breach in planning law
· Set out the requirement for extensions built under permitted development to be independently checked against building regulations to ensure they are safe to live in
· Introduce new powers for planning authorities to fine developers who breach planning law as a deterrent when enforcement action is not considered ‘expedient’
· Levy fines to stop landlords like riding roughshod over the law and communities, the financial penalty will be applied to any developer who has misused permitted development or created a structure that adversely impacts the property or any property belonging to another person
Steve McCabe MP said:
“For far too long, rogue landlords and cowboy builders have got away with blatant planning breaches making the lives of too many of my constituents a total misery. There must be consequences for unscrupulous landlords who fail to abide by planning laws which is why I’ll be making a further call, in Parliament during the Second Reading of Bill, for clear sanctions against developers that abuse permitted development and tougher enforcement action.
“It’s about time that a strong and clear message is sent to rogue landlords in my constituency and across the country to show that they must abide by the same planning laws as everyone else.”
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