Liverpool City Council has approved new Article 4 Directions covering five more areas, meaning family homes in these locations must now secure planning permission before being converted into houses of multiple occupation (HMOs). The move is aimed at curbing the spread of what council leader Cllr Liam Robinson called “cowboys, spivs and wrong’uns” in the housing sector.
Under national permitted development rights, conversions of homes accommodating between three and six people can generally take place without planning permission unless an Article 4 Direction is in force. Larger HMOs accommodating more than six people already require planning permission.
Areas now protected
The new directions cover Kirkdale, Everton, County, Walton, Orrell Park and part of Fazakerley, as well as part of Tuebrook Larkhill, Old Swan, part of Stoneycroft, Penny Lane, part of Calderstones, St Michaels and Sefton Park. These areas are now protected against immediate conversions, although the directions do not ban HMOs outright.
Cllr Robinson said there would always be a place in the housing mix for “good HMOs” but warned rogue operators hoping to turn a quick buck that their days were numbered. The new directions remove the automatic right to convert family homes and require any proposed development to go through the planning process.
Residents' concerns
The cabinet meeting on Tuesday heard from Faye Nelson McIntyre of Yewtree Road, Walton. She said her street had become “plagued” with the development of HMOs, including developments for students that were not big enough. She also lamented the “incredibly open” hostility towards migrants and asylum seekers in relation to the proliferation of HMOs across communities, and urged the council to ensure the powers were “only the beginning” of regulations, describing it as a “giant step for our area”.
A council assessment reports that HMOs represent between 3% and 4.6% of the city’s housing stock – up to 10,000 altogether. Although most HMOs remain within the existing Article 4 area, the number of small HMOs grew by 15% inside the boundary over a three-year period, compared with 57% elsewhere in the city.
Future plans
Cllr Hetty Wood, cabinet member for housing, said in 12 months' time, further powers would be developed to cover the whole city under Article 4. More than 80% of respondents to a council consultation backed additional coverage.
She added: “This is about pushing developers to go to planning permission. It means they cannot have those permitted development rights which gives them the chance to convert a family property with less permission than a conservatory.”
The changes will enable planners to assess issues including the concentration of existing HMOs, the loss of family housing, effects on neighbourhood character and pressures on parking, waste services, and community facilities. In July, Cllr Robinson said the authority would wage “war” on HMOs amid growing concern about the concentration of developments in communities.
Speaking on Tuesday, he said: “I think we all recognise there will be a role for good HMOs in a city like ours but there should never, ever be a proliferation of them or a concentration of them. There should be an appropriate spread across the city.”
Cllr Robinson said while there would be some who would want to “twist this and say it’s an attack on developers” he said it was “not in the slightest.” He added: “Good developers, good landlords will always be welcome in this city, but bad ones, the cowboys, the spivs, the wrong’uns, they’re not welcome in the slightest and this is one of the tools with which we’re going to be tackling that.”
