Another council introducing Article 4.     Hinckley and Bosworth are rolling it out further across the borough just months after approving their first direction in Hinckley.   For anyone who doesn't know what this means Article 4 removes the permitted development right to convert a property into an HMO. You need full planning permission before you can create one.   This is the direction of travel for the entire sector.   More councils. More areas. More restrictions on where new HMOs can be created.   And here's the thing.   Most HMO investors see this as a threat.   I see it as a filter.   Article 4 doesn't stop good operators. It stops lazy ones. The people who buy any old terraced house, slap some beds in it, and call it an HMO without thinking about whether the area needs it or whether the product is any good. When planning permission is required, standards go up. Due diligence goes up. The barriers to entry go up.   Which means less competition for the operators who know what they're doing.   The councils introducing Article 4 aren't wrong either. Concentrated HMOs in the wrong streets without any planning oversight does create problems.   That's a fair point.   But the answer isn't to ban HMOs. It's to plan them properly.   Good location. Right product. Right tenant mix. HMOs that people are proud to live in and neighbours don't resent.   That's always been the model.   Article 4 just makes it the only model.   If you're investing in HMOs and you're not already thinking about Article 4 areas, planning policy, and local authority appetite start now.   Because the direction of travel is clear.   ©️ Jim Holland

Posted by Cristian Bunescu at 2026-06-06 08:39:12 UTC