A judge has resolved a dispute over whether a building is being used as a house in multiple occupation (HMO) by ruling that "plugging in a microwave" does not make a room a flat.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council won a legal battle against the owners of the St George Hotel, who said its rooms should be classed as flats.

The council first raised concerns after housing officers inspected the Albert Square property and found 32 of its 62 rooms were being used to house homeless people.

Officers said the rooms did not meet the legal test for self-contained flats and ruled the building should be licensed as an HMO, meaning it would be subject to tougher safety and housing standards.

However, the hotel's owners, Oxford Hotel Investments, challenged the decision at a tribunal, claiming each room was a self-contained unit.

Tribunal inspectors later found that while the rooms were en-suite, they lacked basic cooking facilities and only provided a microwave, kettle and fridge.

Consequently, the council's initial decision was upheld.

The owners also challenged that decision, but judges at another tribunal ruled in the council's favour again, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Judge Johns KC said a room could not "be turned into a flat simply by plugging in a microwave."

He added there was "no relevant storage, no food preparation area" and that planning laws were supposed to "protect people in the occupation of their homes, not to encourage them to cook their own meals".

Despite the second rejection, the company has now sought to appeal the verdict.

A hotel spokesman said the building stopped housing homeless people about two years ago.

Paul Wells, the council's Conservative portfolio holder for licensing, said the authority was "delighted" with the ruling, which "sets a precedent for all local authorities that want to improve housing standards for residents".

"Our teams worked exceptionally hard to achieve this result and deserve real credit," he added. (BBC)

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