Residential Landlords who want to concrete over the front gardens of their properties to provide off street parking for their tenants may face tougher opposition in the future.

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) wants the Government to take immediate steps to mitigate the risk of flooding by preventing people from taking such action.

In February the Government promised to make a change to Permitted Development Rights (PDRs) which would mean that homeowners would only be permitted to pave over their front gardens if they used permeable surfaces like gravel or specially designed water permeable pavers.

However, despite the release of its flood mitigation guidance recently the Government has yet to fulfil its commitment.

Garden areas which are paved with non-permeable surfaces are a major contributor to flash-flooding as they prevent rainwater from seeping naturally into the ground, increasing water runoff which can overwhelm storm water drainage systems. The RTPI believes steps should be taken immediately to prevent this widespread practice.

Last year a series of floods caused by a combination of heavy downpours and poor drainage caused £3.3bn of damage and severely disrupted the supply of utilities - including fresh water - to thousands of homes across the UK.

This year a number of flash floods have occurred including floods in Wiltshire, the Thames Valley, Kent, Sussex and a flood in Somerset which was responsible for what local emergency crews described as their “busiest night in living history”.

RTPI Secretary General Robert Upton said: “The practice of paving over front gardens is widespread and growing rapidly. With every garden that’s concreted over the risk of flash flooding in built up urban areas increases and urgent steps need to be taken to ensure that if homeowners do decide to cover their gardens they are compelled to do it in a way that does not contribute to the risk of flooding.

“The Government must take steps now to put the brakes on this potentially very dangerous practice.”