Birmingham to introduce city-wide Article 4 Direction in June

10 Jan 2020 02:03 PM

Landlords in Birmingham who want to convert homes into small HMOs will have to apply for planning permission to do so.

It comes as Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet approved plans to introduce a city-wide Article 4 Direction on small HMOs at a meeting in December.

The Article 4 Direction will come into force on Monday 8th June 2020.

An existing Article 4 Direction covering the areas of Selly Oak, Harborne and Edgbaston will be rovoked on this date to make way for the new city wide restriction.

What do landlords in Birmingham need to do?

Landlords who have an existing small HMO are being urged by the city council to declare this before Monday 8th June, and to provide details of the address and any evidence to show the property is in existing HMO use, for example a signed tenancy agreement. Landlords can declare a HMO on Birmingham City Council’s website.

After Monday 8th June, any existing HMOs in the city that have not already been declared may require the submission of an application for a certificate of lawful use, or for retrospective planning approval.

To learn more about the new scheme, please click here.

Consultation

Last year, Birmingham City Council ran a six week consultation on the plans, which the RLA responded to. You can read the RLA’s response here.

In an interview this week with the online magazine Mortgage Solutions, RLA policy manager John Stewart warned that the city wide restriction could deter investment.

Learn more about Article 4 Direction

Article 4 directions restrict permitted rights either in relation to a particular area or site, or a particular type of development anywhere in the local authority’s area. When an article 4 direction is in effect, a planning application may be require for development that would have otherwise been permitted. Read more in our guide for landlords.