Developers in Leeds turn vacant offices into ‘rabbit hutch’ flats using powers to bypass normal planning rules

Developers in Leeds have turned vacant offices into flats on more than 900 occasions in the last five years using powers to bypass normal planning rules.

The Local Government Association warned communities may have lost out on “desperately needed” affordable housing through the use of permitted development rights, which allow certain conversions to be carried out without full planning permission.

Data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government reveals there were 953 office-to-residential conversions in Leeds in the five years to 2019-20. Of those, 86 took place last year, while 2016-17 saw the highest number carried out – 302.

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A permitted development right is general planning permission granted by Parliament for certain developments and changes of use. It allows developers to turn office buildings into homes as long as they meet recently introduced requirements such as having enough space and natural light. It also means the typical requirement to provide affordable housing cannot be enforced.

In Leeds, former offices accounted for 7% of the 14,341 net additional homes – the total of all new builds, conversions and changes of use minus any demolitions.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said allowing conversions of commercial buildings into residential through permitted development rights has been “an absolute disaster”. She added: “If the Government truly wants to fix our housing emergency it needs to invest in a new generation of decent social homes, not hastily constructed rabbit hutches.”

An MHCLG spokesperson said the system contributed to more than 243,000 extra homes of all types last year.

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