Policy information sourced from the Islington Development Management Policies
DM3.9 Houses in Multiple Occupation, hostels and student accommodation
All new Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), hostels and student accommodation must be built to Islington’s flexible home standards (as defined in the Accessible Housing in Islington SPD) and 10% of bed spaces must be designed to be wheelchair accessible. The 10% wheelchair accessible standard rooms must be fully fitted from completion.
HMOs
The council will support the provision of new HMOs where they:
- do not give rise to any significant adverse amenity impact(s) on the surrounding neighbourhood;
- do not result in the loss of existing larger housing;
- satisfy the appropriate Environmental Health standards and any higher standards set out in Part iv); and
- provide a good quality of accommodation within non-self contained units, consistent with the space standards set out in Table 3.5. Non-self contained units should have an exclusive use kitchen for each household, either within their sleeping accommodation unit or in another room.
The council will resist the loss of good quality HMOs.
Where the loss of an HMO is acceptable, development should provide accommodation to meet an acute need identified by the council’s housing department, which may include social rented housing.
Hostels
The council will support the provision of new hostels where they will:
- not result in the loss of permanent housing or existing satisfactorily shared accommodation;
- be suitable for the intended occupiers in terms of the location, standard and level of facilities and provide the necessary level of supervision, management and care/support;
- be an appropriate use considering the surrounding area, and contribute to mixed and balanced communities; and
- not give rise to any significant adverse amenity impact on the surrounding neighbourhood.
The council will resist the loss of hostels unless:
- adequate replacement accommodation will be provided for the particular group; or
- it can be demonstrated that the accommodation is no longer needed for the particular group; or
- it can be demonstrated that the existing accommodation is unsatisfactory for modern standards and/or not fit for purpose for its current use.
Where the loss of a hostel is acceptable, development should provide accommodation to meet an acute need identified by the council’s housing department, which may include social rented housing.
Student accommodation
Student accommodation will only be approved where:
- the site has been allocated or designated for student accommodation use;
- it can be demonstrated that the proposal will not give rise to any significant adverse amenity impact(s) on the surrounding neighbourhood; and
- all proposed units provide a decent standard of accommodation and amenity.
Planning conditions and agreements will be used to:
- ensure that student accommodation is occupied only by students (and where necessary, members of a specified educational institution);
- secure funding for bursaries, consistent with the Core Strategy policy on housing; and
- ensure that the development is subject to an appropriate site management and maintenance plan.
For more information please see the Islington Development Management Policies