Labour has been accused of allowing developers to build a new generation of “slum” homes by converting office blocks into flats without planning permission.
The controversial projects will boost Keir Starmer’s drive to build 1.5m new homes in England but have been labelled a “free-for-all” for developers. Many of these commercial blocks are built on industrial estates or business parks, with complaints of poor ventilation and no access to private outdoor space.
In opposition, Labour vowed to scrap the schemes, condemning a “get-out clause” that allowed developers to build “slum housing”, and a lack of requirements for a certain number of affordable homes. But when the government published its national planning policy framework on Thursday, there was no reference to banning the developments.
Hugh Ellis, policy director at the Town and Country Planning Association, said: “It is shameful that Labour has allowed this policy to continue. It is Dickensian – tolerating the creation of slum housing for those people most in need.”
Ellis said not all the homes built via office-to-residential schemes were substandard, but the projects needed to be properly regulated under the planning process to ensure high-quality and affordable new homes. “This is a free-for-all,” he said.
Ministers will be challenged this week in parliament about the lack of planning controls on a proposed new spate of office-to-residential conversions that are creating thousands of tower block homes. Nigel Crisp, the former chief executive of the NHS in England, will question the government on the danger of the schemes delivering poor housing that risks public health.
New regulations extending what are known as permitted development rights were introduced in 2013, allowing the conversion of disused office blocks into new homes without full planning permission. They do not typically allow for section 106 agreements, stipulating the provision of affordable homes.
A number of projects have previously been exposed for delivering “rabbit-hutch” homes, with some flats built without windows. Others only offered the space of a typical bedroom. Residents at one scheme, Newbury House in Ilford, east London, were described as being packed in “like sardines” in flats measuring as little as 3.6 metres by 3.6 metres (12ft x 12ft). They also complained of poor ventilation.
In April 2019, John Healey, the then shadow housing secretary who is now in charge of defence, pledged that Labour would scrap permitted development rules that bypassed the usual planning process.
“Conservative-permitted development rules have created a get-out clause for developers to dodge affordable homes requirements and build slum housing,” he warned. “To fix the housing crisis, we need more genuinely affordable, high-quality homes. Labour will give local people control over the housing that gets built in their area.”
The Tories tightened the rules in 2020 and 2021 to ensure that all habitable rooms in office-to-residential conversions had “adequate natural light” and that they met national space standards. Experts say the projects still risk delivering poor-quality housing because they do not have sufficient regulatory oversight.
A government-funded report in 2020 found that just 3.5% of permitted development schemes analysed benefited from access to private amenity space, such as a garden or terrace, compared with 23.1% of the planning permissions units. They were also more likely to be based in business parks or industrial areas.
Ben Clifford, professor of spatial planning and governance at University College London, who was one of the authors of the 2020 state-financed study, said: “We’re allowing for housing to be delivered through a route that can be potentially problematic for people’s health and wellbeing.”
Clifford said in his continuing research that residents were complaining about their flats overheating in the summer months. “One resident said she would spend hours wandering the streets and sitting in parks to avoid being in the flat,” he said. “Another said she avoided cooking because it was already so hot and it would add to the problem.”
More than 100,000 new homes have already been delivered under the schemes. A size cap on the total floor space of office-to-residential schemes of 1,500 sq metres (almost 16,150 sq ft) was lifted in March, with Labour now presiding over a surge in proposed new developments.
The cap was introduced in 2021 to focus on medium-sized buildings that were more likely to be suitable for conversion.
An analysis by estate agent Knight Frank found that, in the six months after the cap was removed, developers put in 1,875 applications to build homes on sites in London involving converting a commercial building. These developments all exceeded the previous cap on floor space and formerly would not have been permitted.
Zurich Insurance UK warned in a report in September that some of the conversions could become inhabitable. It said: “Poorly designed conversions could create swathes of homes which are vulnerable to more frequent heatwaves.”
The Home Builders Federation said: “Changes of use from commercial or office space into residential can play a role in the provision of new homes, particularly in areas where councils are reluctant to permit new home building schemes, but it’s essential that all required standards are met and that necessary community amenities are part of the development.’
Ian Fletcher, policy director at the British Property Federation, said office-to-residential developments had improved, including prior approval now being required from a planning authority on access to natural light and space standards.
He said: “The major issue is the location, as permitted development rights don’t consider access to transport, shops and other public services, which are considered as part of full planning applications.
“Conversions done well are not always a cheap option. Calls for affordable housing requirements are understandable but they need to be tempered with what is viable. Otherwise, empty buildings will just continue to sit empty, blighting local neighbourhoods.”
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Our plan to build 1.5m homes is clear that all homes must be well designed and provide the safety and security people need. We will keep permitted development rights under review.”
