Liverpool Council's cabinet has approved tighter rules on houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) in more areas of the city, following a heated debate over their scope. The decision, which requires planning permission for conversions of family homes into HMOs, was temporarily halted after being called in by opposition Liberal Democrat members.
The new Article 4 Directions will now protect areas including Kirkdale, Everton, County, Walton, Orrell Park and part of Fazakerley against immediate conversions. A city-wide measure is due to be introduced next year.
Opposition calls for immediate city-wide action
Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Carl Cashman told an extraordinary session of the culture and economy scrutiny committee that he was "absolutely certain" a phased roll out in only some areas would lead to the areas not protected "being swamped with new HMOs." The group had called for all areas of the city to be included immediately.
Under national permitted development rights, conversion of a home accommodating three to 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.
Phased approach defended
Cllr Hetty Wood, cabinet member for housing, said members would seek to adopt a city-wide approach next year. The new directions remove the automatic right to convert family homes and require any proposed development to go through the planning process, but they do not ban HMOs outright.
Part of Tuebrook Larkhill are included alongside Old Swan and part of Stoneycroft as well as Penny Lane, part of Calderstones. St Michaels and Sefton Park form part of the direction.
Concerns over HMO saturation
There are currently between 7,136 and 10,862 HMOs recorded in Liverpool, accounting for up to 4.6% of the city's housing stock. Cllr Cashman noted Liverpool was an "outlier" across the wider city region, as Sefton, Knowsley and Halton had adopted borough wide controls on HMOs, with similar measures in Manchester and Birmingham.
He said: "Changing the Article 4 direction to city wide is not time consuming, it's not labour intensive, it's not costly. It's a matter of changing a few words in a council document but those few words will stop the spread of HMOs into new areas across the city."
Cllr Nick Small said HMOs form an important part in the city's housing market particularly for young people and addressing homelessness. He said HMOs do need to be "properly managed" and "properly regulated" owing to issues with noise, crime, anti-social behaviour and community cohesion. He added that the number of HMOs had increased over the last three years by around 700 units, citing "some reasons outside of the council's control" for the growth of 23%.
Cllr Small said the reason the city-wide proposals were not immediately being introduced was to ensure the policy was "to provide certainty and consistency for residents and developers alike."
Residents express frustration
Maureen Gaffney told the committee where she lives in Walton had become a "nightmare" and residents in County ward had been "totally disregarded and abandoned" by the delay. She said: "This community has not recovered from the riots and disorder of 2024 and we've looked to try and rebuild our communities and neighbourhoods but the saturation of HMOs in the area is totally unjust and unfair." Ms Gaffney said the area had become "saturated and we need help quickly" and that Article 4 wasn't "the holy grail" but a "start in the right direction."
Morgan Elliott, an HMO developer, told the committee it was felt among developers that too many were not good for the city or their business. He said: "A city-wide Article 4 direction in future would be sensible but it needs to be brought in fairly for the council's sake as well as ours."
Cllr Alan Gibbons, who represents Orrell Park, said the phased approach was the most effective way to stop the "proliferation" of HMOs in wards like his and across the north of the city. He added: "When I see weeping that there might be a spill over into Mossley Hill, Woolton, Childwall and Allerton, the most expensive, high priced places in the area, where on earth do you think they've been hammering these developers? Putting out aggressive leaflets saying 'buy this property, we'll take it off you' why do you think they're coming into our areas? Because we're low priced accommodation and we've been flooded."
Cllr Gibbons accused Cllr Cashman of "grandstanding" at the last minute by instigating the call-in and criticised him for not attending the original cabinet meeting. Cllr William Shortall, the current Lord Mayor and Old Swan West member, said residents in his ward were "angry, frustrated and quite frankly fed up" by the delay. Cllr Rob McAllister-Bell, Liberal Democrat member for Mossley Hill, accused the Labour cabinet of making a "political decision" in its selection of the areas covered by the new directions.
He said the effects would be felt "through residents across this city in wards that you represent as an administration and that is on you." Committee members voted to support the original cabinet decision.
