Dundee’s head of licensing has admitted the council are powerless to enforce the limit on HMO licenses in the city.
Concerns had been raised by Cllr Fraser Macpherson, who called for a review of the limit on houses of multiple occupancy, which he claimed was consistently breached in certain areas of the city.
This he said was contributing to difficulties such as those surrounding parking in his own West End ward.
In response, Dundee City Council’s Licensing Committee convener, Stewart Hunter, said that the committee’s powers to keep within the 12.5% limit for each sub-postcode data zone was constrained.
“We’re aware that historically in certain areas, the HMO limit has been breached,” he said.
“The problem is that if we reject an application and then that is overruled then that sets a precedent for future cases.
“Because of this, what we have to do is take each application on a case-by-case basis.
“However, we will try to protect residents as much as we can to prevent problems associated with HMOs such as with parking.”
Cllr Macpherson’s call came after an application for an HMO for a property on 52A Perth Road was rejected by councillors, only for the decision to then be overturned by a Scottish Government reporter on appeal.
Mr Macpherson, who was behind the move to reject it originally, said the application had contravened Policy 15 of the Adopted Dundee Local Development Plan.
This prohibits new HMO licences in properties with a shared entrance, even though the two other flats in the tenement are already HMOs, something he branded “very frustrating”.
But Cllr Hunter says any change to the limit would not provide a solution.
He said: “The committee could be challenged legally and we must stick with what the Sheriff says.
“This means that ultimately we cannot necessarily keep the number of HMOs within the limit.
“As a committee we will try to stay under 12.5% as much as we can but sometimes, because of precedents, we can’t.
“Most letting agencies we deal with are sympathetic to the issues that can arise from HMOs.
“If there is any evidence of problems in the past in an area or property then it’s something we can look at.”
