Article 4 HMO rules in Manchester

Manchester City Council made an Article 4(1) Direction on 7 October 2010 covering change of use from Class C3 dwellinghouses to Class C4 houses in multiple occupation. After consultation from 8 to 29 October 2010, the council confirmed the direction on 17 January 2011. The confirmation notice states it came into force on 8 October 2011 and applies to the whole Manchester City Council area.

Confirmation notice: Article 4 confirmation notice (PDF). Plain-English page: Article 4 Direction — changing the use of your property.

Manchester’s guidance says planning permission is needed to let a house to more than two unrelated people if it is not already used as an HMO. That maps to a change from a typical single-household home (C3) to a small HMO of three to six people (C4). HMOs with more than six residents fall in a separate use class and also need planning permission. Once a house is in HMO use, reverting to a family house does not need permission, but returning to HMO use afterwards does.

Policy H11 of Manchester’s Local Development Framework Core Strategy sets out how the council approaches further HMOs. The council’s Article 4 page states it would generally be unlikely to allow a change to HMO use where there are already a lot of shared houses nearby. That density test sits beside the Article 4 itself: the direction creates the need to apply; H11 shapes how applications are decided.

Manchester’s planning Article 4 does not replace mandatory or additional HMO licensing under the Housing Act 2004. Sale packs should show planning lawfulness for the C4 or sui generis use and the correct licence for the occupancy being sold. Routes: Sell an HMO in Manchester · HMOs for sale in Manchester.

Manchester’s direction is a classic English city-wide C3 to C4 Article 4. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not use this same Class L tool. Explainer: Article 4 direction.