Reform-led St Helens Council approved clampdown on HMOs

St Helens Council has approved the making of a borough-wide Article 4 Direction, which would require planning permission for the conversion of residential properties into small HMOs.

Currently, under national permitted development rights, property owners can convert dwellings (Use Class C3) into small HMOs (Use Class C4, for up to six residents) without planning permission.

The council argues that this has led to an "accelerating rate" of issues in parts of the borough, including parking pressures, noise, and reduced community cohesion.

Cabinet member for regeneration, property and planning Cllr Jack Benyon presented a report to members at Monday's 

An Article 4 Direction removes these automatic permissions, meaning all conversions to small HMOs would require planning permission.

This would allow the council to consider the concentration, design, and suitability of each HMO on a case-by-case basis.

The borough-wide approach is a "relatively unique and comprehensive response."

At the cabinet meeting on July 20, councillors formally backed the Article 4 Direction.

St Helens town hall (Image: Stock)

Cllr George Woodward, leader of St Helens Council, said: "It’s a pleasure to hear one of our key campaign promises during the election period almost fulfilled within our first three months of governance.

"I think it’s indicative that the overwhelming positive response to this policy really shows that the proliferation of these HMOs without the due scrutiny, attention and review that they should be getting has spiralled out of control.

"It’s very handy for certain branches of the civil service perhaps to contract third-parties to take out these HMOs in our borough and across the north west at the behest of national policy."

The report before cabinet said the highest densities of HMOs in St Helens are currently found in Newton-le-Willows West, the town centre, West Park, and Windle wards.

It noted that many HMOs are well managed, but poorly managed or badly designed or located properties, particularly in high concentrations, have raised concerns for neighbours and tenants alike.

Cabinet member for environment and waste and deputy leader Cllr Michael Gibson said it is vital residents have a say on the planning process (Image: St Helens Council)

Cabinet member Cllr Michael Gibson said: "Residents all across the borough are very much concerned about continued development of HMOs and it’s vital that we give them the ability to weigh in on the planning process at an early stage."

"It’s also absolutely vital that residents get a say, that’s the crux of the issue, the people of St Helens need a say on things that, in many ways, have impacted the lives of many residents in many detrimental ways."

Cabinet member Cllr James Long added: “I think it’s vital the people of St Helens are given the opportunity to exercise their voice.

"For far too long now it has been the case that those voices were simply not able to be heard because there was no mechanism uptaken where they could exercise that voice, so it’s great that they will be able to be heard.”

Cllr James Long speaking at the meeting (Image: St Helens Council)

The council adopted a new HMO Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) in January 2026.

This sets out how planning applications for HMOs will be assessed, including factors such as over-concentration, impacts on neighbours, and the suitability of living space.

According to licensing records, there were 106 licensed HMOs in St Helens as of March 2026, up from 66 in 2021–22.

Planning application figures remain low, but officials believe this is partly due to conversions happening outside of the planning system, under permitted development rules.

The Article 4 Direction will now be subject to a six-week public consultation, and any recommendations or modifications will be made from public responses before confirmation in the autumn of this year.

If confirmed, it is expected to increase planning application volumes and workload for council officers, but is also forecast to generate additional planning fee income to offset these costs.

The council considered limiting the Article 4 Direction to specific areas but concluded this would simply displace the problem elsewhere.

Instead, the borough-wide measure is intended to provide consistent controls and avoid piecemeal expansion requests.

Cllr Woodward added: "I think it’s also worth pointing out that we’re only just starting to tighten the screws on this.

"We have other tools that we will utilise, for example licensing, our SPD in The Local Plan which is due to be renewed soon.”