Loophole allows nine-bedroom rooming house to be built in Glen Huntly without permit

Neighbours in a quiet Glen Huntly street were horrified to discover a nine-apartment boarding house was about to open near them, a planning loophole meant they weren’t consulted, and no permit was needed. So why is this allowed?

Glen Huntly residents, including Scott Redford (holding daughter Camille) are angry at a planning loophole that could see a boarding house built in their street without the need for permit. Picture: Penny Stephens.

Angry neighbours of a nine-bedroom rooming house earmarked for their quiet Glen Huntly street fear it could be home to rowdy students or ex-prisoners.

And a planning loophole means the developer doesn’t need approval from Glen Eira Council to set up the share accommodation — and neighbours don’t have the right to object.

Plans for the new building on the corner of Dorothy Ave and Culma St are clearly marked “boarding house”, and show nine studio apartments with kitchenettes and ensuites will be built at the site.

Scott Redford told the Leader locals had been left in the dark about the two-storey building.

“We don’t know who is going to be moving in — it could be students at best but there’s speculation it could be used as a halfway house for people just out of prison or people with drug issues,” he said.

“I don’t want to be an alarmist but that is a concern, for sure.”

Mr Redford said nearby streets were home to several young families who had concerns about parking, noise and plunging property values should the rooming house go ahead.

“None of us would have bought into the area … if we’d had any idea this would be built or even could be built right in the middle of us,” he said.

“It’s really going to bring down the character of the street and, of course, the value of our houses.

“People just won’t want to move in next door to that.”

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Mr Redford said there had been no consultation process and no opportunity for neighbours to lodge objection to the plans.

Under the council’s zoning laws, the development did not trigger the need for a change of use permit and the proposal was not publicly advertised.

“We’re struggling to understand how that’s the case because we consider moving from a three-bedroom house to a nine-bedroom boarding house a really significant change of use,” he said.

In an email seen by the Leader, a council officer confirmed the development was exempt from the planning permit process.

“If the development is for what is called a ‘Rooming House’ and there are nine bedrooms or less it is specifically exempt from needing planning permission by the Glen Eira Planning Scheme … (and) there is no mechanism for the planning department to consider the development,” the officer wrote.

“It also means there is no requirement for the developer to provide any plans to the planning department for approval and no advertising or appeals processes.”

Caulfield state Liberal MP David Southwick said “broken planning laws” meant residents were forced to put up with “rampant overdevelopment, heritage homes being demolished and now loopholes allowing commercial boarding houses to be built in residential areas”.

“It’s outrageous that if this site was for a childcare centre or a doctor’s surgery a permit would be required, however a nine-bedroom … boarding house gets a free pass,” he said.

Glen Eira’s director planning and place, Ron Torres, said the council had advocated to the State Government for a review of the planning law, and “particularly for greater simplification and clarity in the regulatory processes for rooming houses”.

“Regulation of rooming houses currently falls under multiple jurisdictions and it can be difficult for neighbours and community to navigate, particularly where they have concerns,” he said.

“Council would also like to see minimum standards for boarding house management.”

The developer has been contacted for comment.