A letting agency which had been told to stop using a terraced property as an HMO has had an enforcement order upheld.

Local media in South Wales is reporting that Swan Sales and Lettings received an enforcement notice from Swansea council in May last year saying it appeared there’d been a material change of use of the residential property to an HMO for eight people without planning permission.

It suggested it would have rejected an application because of the property’s lack of outlook and light for two of the bedrooms, and because of its detrimental impact on road safety and parking.

The agency suggested the property was actually being used as an Airbnb for short lets, but a visit from the planning inspector discovered the property was being used for permanent student lets.

The inspector, Richard Jenkins, described it as fully furnished and capable of being an Airbnb property but stated: “However, no cogent evidence, in the form of invoices, listings or reviews, has been submitted to support the assertion that the property was in use as a short-term holiday let at the time the notice was issued.”

The inspector added: “It is also material to note that a Student Let sign, advertised by Swan Lettings, was located above the front door at the time of my site inspection.”

The agency furnished the planning inspector with a statement saying the property had been purchased for £230,000 and would require £200,000 to be spent on improvements. Therefore letting it as a single-household home would generate around £10,000 per year compared to nearly £35,000 as an HMO. It added that the property was in any case sandwiched between two other HMOs and would not be suitable for a family.

The agency then applied to create a seven-bedroom HMO, but the council – citing the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act – declined to determine the application saying it was similar to the previous one which had been unsuccessfully appealed.

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