Houses in Multiple Occupation are among the most frequently contested planning applications in residential areas. Our Chartered Town Planners have successfully challenged HMO applications across England — here is what you need to know.
An HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) for planning purposes falls into two categories. Small HMOs of three to six occupants forming more than one household fall within Use Class C4, and in many local authority areas change from C3 (dwellinghouse) to C4 can be permitted development — meaning no planning permission is required. Large HMOs of seven or more occupants are Sui Generis, meaning they always require planning permission regardless of any permitted development provisions.
However, many councils have used Article 4 Directions to remove the permitted development right to convert C3 dwellings to C4 HMOs in areas of high HMO concentration, meaning that even small HMOs require full planning permission in those areas. Your council's planning portal will confirm whether an Article 4 Direction applies to your area.
Planning objections to HMO applications must raise material planning considerations — not personal objections to students or young professionals as occupants. The following grounds are well-established and consistently effective:
Grounds that will not be taken into account include: the nationality, occupation, or lifestyle of likely occupants; concerns about property values; or personal disputes with the applicant.
The specific policies that apply depend on your local planning authority, but the following categories of policy are relevant in most cases:
Local Plan HMO policies are the most important starting point. Most councils with high HMO demand have adopted specific policies addressing concentration thresholds, design standards, and location criteria. Planning Voice accesses your council's adopted Local Plan and any Supplementary Planning Documents as part of every assessment.
Housing mix policies in most local plans protect the stock of larger family homes, particularly three-bedroom and above. Strategic Housing Market Assessments are the evidence base for these policies and can be cited directly in objections.
NPPF 2024 provides the national framework, particularly on achieving healthy, inclusive and safe places (Chapter 8) and delivering diverse housing (Chapter 5).
Article 4 Directions — where these exist, they confirm the council's position on HMO concentration in the area and provide a strong basis for objections even to small HMOs that would otherwise be permitted development.
Planning Voice has successfully challenged HMO applications across England, including in Greater Manchester (Bury), Croydon (two separate applications), and Bristol. In each case our objections engaged with the specific local plan policies in force, the housing mix evidence base, and the character of the particular street affected.
See our published case studies for the full detail of the arguments we raised and the outcomes achieved in each case. We have experience of both retrospective HMO applications and new proposals, Sui Generis and C4 HMOs, and Article 4 Direction areas.
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