Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO's)

In this section

  1. What is a HMO?
  2. Mandatory Licensing
  3. HMO Standards
  4. Fire Safety for HMO's
  5. Fees and charges
  6. Applying for a HMO Licence
  7. Planning Rules for HMO's
  8. HMO Enforcement
  9. HMO Register
  10. Report an Unlicensed HMO
  11. Reporting a disrepair in HMO
  12. Varying a HMO license
  13. Buying and selling a HMO
  14. Revoking a HMO licence
  15. FAQ's - houses in multiple occupation

Planning Rules for HMO's

When converting a residential property into a House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) you may require planning permission if:

  • The HMO will have more than 7 occupants
  • There will be cooking facilities in individual rooms
  • The property has restrictive planning conditions
  • If you are making changes to the property for example adding an extension

If you are converting a non-residential property into a HMO then you may require a change of use, for example a shop, a pub or a factory.

Where a property is found to be operating without the correct planning permission this will be forwarded through to the planning enforcement team. 

Click here to apply for planning permission

Click to view any current applications

Article 4

This is a piece of planning legislation which permits local authorities to require planning permission to be sought for an activity which would not normally require it. Currently, there are no article 4 designations in Stoke-on-Trent which relate specifically to the development of HMOs.

Click here to view the article4 conservation areas