40 Chatham Road, Walthamstow, LONDON, E17 6EU

use of property as a house in multiple occupation (HMO) (Class C4)

Authority: Waltham Forest London Borough Council
Appeal type: ldc · Lawful Development Certificate
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Change of use
Inspector: Willows P

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the Council's decision to refuse to issue a certificate of lawful use or development was well-founded, turning on whether the use of the property as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) (Use Class C4) was lawful when the applications were made

What decided it

The March 2015 LDC application form, completed by the property owner/occupier or their agent, clearly stated the existing use as C3 dwellinghouse, providing contemporaneous evidence that the property had reverted to C3 use within the 10-year enforcement period, meaning permission would have been required to change back to C4 use.

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