Plans for a house in multiple occupation (HMO) above a shop in a busy Sunderland street have been blocked by council development bosses.
Sunderland City Council’s planning department has refused an application for space above 20 Hylton Road, near the Hylton Road roundabout.
The address is listed on the council’s website as ‘flat 20’ and is understood to have been used as a flat across upper floors.
New plans from North East To London Property Group Ltd, submitted earlier this year, sought permission to convert the three-bedroom flat into a three-bedroom HMO.
Those behind the plan said the new HMO above the shop, if approved, would be for “a maximum of six occupants” and that improvements would ensure the accommodation “meets the necessary criteria for thermal efficiency, acoustic insulation, and fire safety”.
In addition, applicants said all occupants would have their own ensuite and all rooms would have a “small snack station to give extra fridge and cupboard space and a small sink to enable drink making in their rooms,” along with a communal kitchen.
Applicants, in a submission to council officials earlier this year, said the property was “only partially used” and that “the ground floor is to remain retail as there is a tenant in place”.
Supporting planning documents from developers added the upper floor space had historically been operating as a HMO without the “correct planning in place”, and that new owners had “reverted the property to being rented as a residential dwelling until planning had been correctly applied for.”
Details of the building and proposed HMO plans were set out in a design and access statement which said “the tenancy is now coming to an end, and the property is needing a significant upgrade before being able to re-let”.
This included “changing two windows to be obscure glazed and removing the unusable rear garage which is poorly constructed” and the rear area being “separated so that both the retail unit and HMO have separate areas”.
It was noted that the “area for the tenants will include secure bin storage and secure bike storage (both undercover) along with a generous outdoor community area for the tenants to use with new rear fence and gates for privacy.”
A submitted management plan noted a local letting agency would manage the HMO property and that the licence holder would “ensure 24/7 management is in place” with “full inspections of the property every three months” and communal areas being cleaned weekly.
After considering the planning application however, Sunderland City Council’s planning department refused it on 23 October, 2025.
Council planners, in a decision report, gave two reasons for refusal which included the plans “giving rise to an unacceptable concentration of HMOs in the area” and parking issues.
It was noted that the “proposal would result in the number of HMOs exceeding 10 per cent of all residential properties within 100 metres of the application site”, clashing with a council policy which aims to manage the location and level of the property types on Wearside.
Council planners said the proposed HMO at Hylton Road would “breach the thresholds in the policy at this time if this application was to be permitted” and would raise the concentration of HMOs within 100 meters to more than 24 per cent.
The council decision report said the “intensity of this [HMO] use is already well above the [10 per cent] threshold and there are concerns that this proposal will adversely affect the character of the area” and added the plans would “give rise to an unacceptable concentration of HMOs in the area”.
It was also noted that the property is subject to the “sandwiching effect” as both adjacent properties already “function as HMOs”.
Council planners added that the plans would “prejudice the provision of an in curtilage parking space, to the detriment of highway safety” as a second reason for refusal.
It was noted that the local highways authority had “requested details in relation to the loss of the garage and how parking would be accommodated.”
For more information on the planning application, and council decision, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/00722/FUL
