HMO licensing or planning permission for a shared house
Five sharers triggers a mandatory licence. Seven takes the use outside Class C4. The thresholds do not line up, so work out both positions before buying or converting.
HMO licensing or planning permission is the wrong framing, because a shared house can need both, either or neither depending on two numbers that have nothing to do with each other. Licensing under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004 turns on how many people occupy the property and how the council has designated the area. Planning turns on whether the use has changed from Class C3 to Class C4 or to a sui generis large HMO, and whether an Article 4 direction has removed the permitted development right that would otherwise cover the change.
Five occupiers triggers a mandatory licence. Seven occupiers puts the use outside Class C4. Those thresholds do not line up, and that is where landlords come unstuck.
What each regime is actually controlling
Licensing controls the condition and management of the property and the competence of the person running it. The council checks room sizes, amenity provision, fire precautions, waste arrangements and whether the licence holder is a fit and proper person, and it attaches conditions to the licence.
Planning controls the use of the land and its effect on the surrounding area. Concentration of shared housing in a street, parking demand, refuse storage in front gardens, noise and the loss of family housing from the stock are the material considerations, and internal room sizes come into it only where the authority has adopted standards as policy.
The two run independently. A licence does not authorise an unlawful use, and planning permission does not exempt anyone from licensing. The background to that separation is set out in more detail in HMO licensing and planning permission as two separate consents; what follows is how to work out which you need for a given property.
When a licence is required
Mandatory licensing applies to any HMO occupied by five or more people forming two or more households, sharing a basic amenity such as a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. The storey rule that used to limit mandatory licensing was removed in 2018, so a two-storey terrace with five sharers is caught.
Two further schemes can bring smaller properties in. Additional licensing, designated by the council under Part 2, extends licensing to other categories of HMO in a defined area, commonly all HMOs of three or more occupiers. Selective licensing, under Part 3, applies to privately rented homes generally in a designated area, whether or not they are HMOs.
Both designations are local, time-limited and renewed on a cycle, so check the council's current designations rather than relying on what applied at purchase.
When planning permission is required
The Use Classes Order puts a dwellinghouse occupied by a single household in Class C3, and a small HMO occupied by between three and six unrelated people sharing facilities in Class C4. Change between C3 and C4 in either direction is permitted development under Part 3 of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order 2015.
Two things remove that right. An Article 4 direction withdrawing the C3 to C4 permitted development right, which many university towns and cities with high student populations have made across defined areas. And scale, because a house occupied by seven or more unrelated people falls outside Class C4 altogether and becomes sui generis, which always needs planning permission regardless of any direction.
| Occupiers | Planning position outside an Article 4 area | Planning position inside one | Mandatory licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 4 sharers | Permitted development from C3 to C4 | Planning permission required | No, unless additional licensing applies |
| 5 to 6 sharers | Permitted development from C3 to C4 | Planning permission required | Yes |
| 7 or more sharers | Planning permission required, sui generis | Planning permission required, sui generis | Yes |
The awkward cell is five or six sharers outside an Article 4 area. The use is lawful with no application, and the property still needs a licence before anyone moves in.
Article 4 directions and the C3 to C4 change
Where a direction is in force, the change of use needs a planning application, and no fee is payable because the application is required solely by reason of the direction. That fee exemption is worth claiming.
What the authority then assesses is usually set by an adopted policy on the concentration of shared housing. Those policies commonly work on a proportion of properties within a defined radius of the application site, and they vary between authorities in both the percentage and the radius, so read the policy and the supporting text before assuming the site passes.
Evidence that helps an application in a direction area:
- A plan showing the existing licensed and known HMOs within the policy radius, with the source of the data stated
- A parking survey where parking stress is the stated concern, carried out to the methodology the highway authority accepts
- Refuse and recycling storage shown on the plan, sized for the occupancy, and screened from the street
- Cycle storage, secure and accessible without carrying a bike through the house
- Room sizes and layout meeting the licensing standards, which shows the scheme is deliverable as drawn
Arguing that the property already operates as a shared house is a route to an enforcement investigation rather than a permission, unless you can evidence continuous use for long enough to make it lawful, in which case the certificate route is the honest one.
Standards each regime enforces
Licensing sets mandatory minimum room sizes for sleeping accommodation, varying by the number and age of occupants, along with conditions on amenities, fire safety and waste. Council amenity standards then set the ratio of kitchens, bathrooms and toilets to occupiers, and these are published locally and differ.
Fire safety is where licensing has the sharpest teeth. Expect requirements for a linked detection system appropriate to the property type, protected escape routes, fire doors and, in larger properties, emergency lighting. Those requirements interact with building regulations and, for certain properties, with fire safety legislation in its own right.
Planning has nothing to say about most of that. What it does control is the external and area effect, which is why a waste storage strategy matters more to a planning officer than a bathroom count. Where a scheme is large enough for the authority to ask, a waste management strategy covering bin numbers, storage location, collection point and management is the document that answers it.
Applying for both in the right order
The sequence that avoids wasted fees.
- Check whether an Article 4 direction covers the property, and get the answer in writing from the authority.
- Check the licensing designations in force, including additional and selective licensing.
- Where planning permission is needed, apply for it first, or apply for a lawful development certificate where the position is arguable and you want certainty.
- Design the internal layout to the licensing standards before submitting anything, since a plan that cannot be licensed is not worth permitting.
- Apply for the licence once the use is lawful, allowing for the council's processing time before any tenancy starts.
- Deal with building regulations for any works separately, particularly for fire precautions and means of escape.
- Check the council tax position, which changed for HMOs in recent years and now generally treats an HMO as a single dwelling rather than banding individual rooms.
Step three has a caveat worth stating. A council can grant a licence for a property whose use has no planning permission, because the regimes are separate, and landlords sometimes read that as approval. It is not. The planning enforcement team and the licensing team sit in the same building and increasingly share data.
Where the case for the change of use needs to be argued, the planning statement is where the concentration policy, the parking evidence and the amenity case go, and it is worth more than another set of floor plans.
To see which supporting documents a conversion is likely to need, enter the postcode on PlanScope and work from the report list it produces.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. A lawful development certificate is the only formal way to confirm that a use or works are lawful. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Does a five person HMO need planning permission?
Outside an Article 4 area, no. Three to six unrelated sharers is Class C4, and change from Class C3 to Class C4 is permitted development under Part 3 of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order 2015. Inside an Article 4 area that right is withdrawn and an application is required. A mandatory licence is needed either way at five occupiers.
At what point does an HMO become sui generis?
When it is occupied by seven or more unrelated people sharing facilities, which takes it outside Class C4. A sui generis HMO always needs planning permission, whether or not an Article 4 direction is in force, because no permitted development right covers the change. The licensing position is separate and a mandatory licence will also apply.
Is a fee payable where an Article 4 direction applies?
No. Where a planning application is required solely because an Article 4 direction has removed the permitted development right, no planning fee is payable. The exemption is straightforward to claim and is sometimes overlooked, so state it when submitting and check any invoice issued by the authority.
Does an HMO licence make the use lawful in planning terms?
No. The two regimes operate independently. A council can grant a licence for a property whose use has no planning permission, because licensing is concerned with condition, management and the competence of the licence holder. Planning enforcement and licensing teams increasingly share data, so a licence is not protection against enforcement action.
What evidence helps an HMO application in an Article 4 area?
A plan of existing licensed and known HMOs within the policy radius with the data source stated, a parking survey to the highway authority's accepted methodology where parking is the concern, refuse and cycle storage shown and sized on the plan, and room sizes meeting the licensing standards so that the scheme is deliverable as drawn.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.