Article 4 Direction HMO planning restrictions widen across councils

An Article 4 Direction on HMO planning restrictions now covers whole council areas in parts of England. Stoke-on-Trent city council’s Cabinet has approved a city-wide direction, which Landlord Today reported will come into force later in October 2026 with immediate effect.

The change matters to anyone who owns, buys or lets a family home in an affected area. Where a direction applies, a conversion that was once automatic needs a planning application.

What is changing and when

A small house in multiple occupation (HMO) is one let to three to six people. Under national rules, turning an ordinary family home (use class C3) into a small HMO (class C4) is normally permitted development, so no planning application is needed. An Article 4 Direction lets a council switch that right off for a defined area.

In Stoke-on-Trent, according to Landlord Today, the direction removes the right city-wide. Future applications to convert properties into small HMOs will need planning permission. The council said this lets it assess the effect on neighbourhoods, housing quality, parking, community cohesion and public amenity. It followed an August decision to support enhanced regulation of HMOs.

Landlord Today also reported that recent changes to national planning policy now specifically recognise Article 4 Directions as a way to tackle over-concentrations of small HMOs, where there is clear evidence to justify them.

Who is affected: HMO restrictions in new planning rules across the UK

The effect depends on the postcode. The comparison below uses the sources reviewed for this article.

Take a three-bedroom semi that a buyer wants to let to four sharers. In Durham or, once the direction starts, Stoke-on-Trent, that buyer would need full planning permission first. In Fareham, according to kerbio.co.uk, the same conversion is permitted development, subject to HMO licensing.

Durham’s earlier directions date from 17 September 2016 (Durham City), 13 May 2017 (Framwellgate Moor, Newton Hall and Pity Me) and 14 January 2022 (Mount Oswald, Carrville and Belmont), per kerbio.co.uk.

What supporters and critics say about councillors’ planning powers

A Stoke-on-Trent council spokesperson said: “We want to ensure that everyone living in Stoke-on-Trent has access to good-quality housing and that our neighbourhoods remain balanced, thriving places to live.” The spokesperson added that HMOs “have a role to play in our city” but that their development must be “properly managed”.

The council described the direction as part of a wider aim to raise standards in the private rented sector. It said the planning process would give residents a say in local development decisions.

None of the sources reviewed records objections from landlords, developers or residents, so this article does not set out a critics’ case. The sources do make one point that landlords will want to weigh: a direction applies only where a council can justify it with evidence, according to Landlord Today’s account of national policy.

A separate 2026 order: do not confuse the two

One legal source reviewed for this story is a 2026 amending order to the General Permitted Development rules for England (SI 2026/896), published on legislation.gov.uk. Its article 4 is a numbered clause in that order and has nothing to do with Article 4 Directions on HMOs. It amends Class B permitted development rules for solar equipment.

Under the text, stand-alone solar within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse is not permitted if panels would exceed 9 square metres, or if any part would pass a height limit of 1 metre, 2 metres or 4 metres depending on its position. The order also requires a prior-approval application in some conservation-area cases.

It shows how permitted development works in general: national rules set a default, and local or site-specific conditions narrow it.

What to do now

Check before you offer. Ask the council’s planning team whether an HMO direction covers the exact address, because a direction can cover part of a council area and national datasets are incomplete, as kerbio.co.uk notes. Get the answer in writing.

Treat licensing and planning as separate hurdles. A licence does not grant planning permission, and permission does not remove the need for a licence. In Durham, mandatory licensing applies to five or more people forming two or more households, and selective licensing covers about 27% of the county until 31 March 2027, according to kerbio.co.uk.

If you already let a property as a small HMO, ask the council how the direction treats existing use before changing anything. The sources reviewed do not cover that point.

Your questions answered

What are article 4 planning restrictions?

An Article 4 Direction withdraws a permitted-development right in a defined area, so work that normally needs no application must go through planning. For HMOs, it removes the right to convert a family home to a small HMO.

Does article 4 stop HMOs?

No. It requires a planning application, which lets the council weigh the impact on housing quality, parking and the neighbourhood, as Stoke-on-Trent has said. Permission can still be granted.

What are the new HMO regulations?

The sources point to national planning policy now recognising Article 4 Directions for over-concentrations of small HMOs, and to council-level changes such as Stoke-on-Trent’s and Durham’s. They do not describe wider new HMO regulations.

What are the key changes in the new planning laws for 2026?

This article covers only two: the HMO directions above and the 2026 solar order. It cannot speak for other 2026 planning changes.