How we got here

• 2018: Article 4 was introduced in the Dales, the student streets off Smithdown Road.
• 2021: A much wider Article 4 area followed, after an independent study into HMO concentrations commissioned by the council.
• 2022: The Local Plan stopped supporting new HMOs in neighbourhoods where they already make up 10% or more of homes.
• The result: Conversions moved just outside the boundary, to Walton, Orrell Park and Fazakerley in the north, Aigburth and Garston in the south, and over to Wirral.
• The evidence: Small HMOs grew by 15% inside the Article 4 area over three years, against 57% outside it.
• The hotspots: New clusters formed around Sefton Park and St Michaels, and along the A59 from Kirkdale to Orrell Park.

What the council has decided

In October 2026, the council’s Cabinet approved two separate Article 4 Directions. Both remove the right to convert a family home (Use Class C3) into a small HMO (Use Class C4) without planning permission.

1. Immediate controls in five areas

These take effect as soon as the council publishes its legal notice, with no lead-in period:

• Area 1: Kirkdale West and East, Everton North, County, Walton, Orrell Park and part of Fazakerley North and West
• Area 2: Part of Tuebrook Larkhill
• Area 3: Old Swan East and West and part of Stoneycroft
• Area 4: Penny Lane and part of Calderstones
• Area 5: St Michaels, Sefton Park and part of Festival Gardens

2. A citywide direction for everywhere else

• Coverage: The rest of the city, including Aigburth, Garston, Mossley Hill, Allerton, Wavertree Garden Suburb, Childwall, West Derby and Speke.
• Timing: It needs at least 12 months’ notice, so it’s intended to take effect in October 2027.
• The big picture: Within about a year, converting a family home to a small HMO will need planning permission almost anywhere in Liverpool.
• Check your boundary: Some areas only cover part of a ward. If you’re near an edge, check the council’s official Article 4 map for your exact address.

What Article 4 does (and doesn’t do)

There’s a lot of noise around this, so it’s worth being precise.

• It isn’t a ban. It removes the automatic right to convert. You can still apply for planning permission, and the council will judge each application on its merits.
• Large HMOs aren’t affected. Properties for seven or more sharers already needed planning permission everywhere.
• It doesn’t make existing HMOs unlawful. If your property was lawfully operating as an HMO before the direction took effect, it isn’t suddenly in breach. Your planning history is what proves it.
• It’s separate from licensing. A licence doesn’t grant planning permission, and planning permission doesn’t remove the need for a licence. You need both to be right. We’ve broken down the difference in our guide to HMO licensing vs planning permission.

On the merits test, the council’s emerging Local Plan proposes a citywide threshold of 10% HMOs within 100 metres of a proposed site, along with rules to stop family homes being “sandwiched” between HMOs. In the busier pockets of the city, expect that bar to be hard to clear.

How the directions become final

• Immediate directions take effect from the date the notice is first published. A consultation of at least 21 days follows, and the council must then confirm the directions within six months or they lapse.
• The citywide direction goes through the same consultation, but doesn’t bite until at least 12 months after notice is given.
• Compensation. Because immediate directions skip the notice period, the council can face compensation claims for 12 months where someone is refused permission for a conversion that would otherwise have been allowed. Claims can cover abortive costs and loss of value, but they aren’t automatic and the tests are strict. If you were mid-conversion when the direction landed, get specialist planning advice quickly.

If you already own an HMO

• Get your evidence in order. Your strongest protection is being able to prove when HMO use began: tenancy agreements, licence records, council tax records, compliance certificates and inventories. If your records are patchy, a Certificate of Lawfulness for an existing use is worth considering.
• Think hard before switching back to a single let. Moving from an HMO to a family home doesn’t need permission, but going the other way now does. Letting it as a family home “for a year or two” could cost you the HMO use for good, unless your planning permission specifically allows flexible use.
• Expect scarcity to cut both ways. With new supply restricted, well-run, lawful HMOs in good locations become harder to replicate, which supports demand and value. But scrutiny rises too, and badly managed properties will attract more attention, not less.
• Standards still do the heavy lifting. Article 4 controls where HMOs go. Licensing, property condition and day-to-day management decide whether they’re any good, and that’s where enforcement will focus. Our HMO compliance checklist covers the essentials.

If you’re thinking about buying or converting

• Don’t treat the next 12 months as a window to rush. Conversions thrown together before the citywide direction lands are exactly what the council will be watching, and a poorly planned HMO is a liability under any set of rules.
• Check the planning status, not the listing. “HMO” in a property listing proves nothing. Ask for the planning history, any permission or Certificate of Lawfulness, licence history and evidence of continuous use before you commit.
• Build planning into your numbers. Permission takes time, costs money and isn’t guaranteed. Either price in that risk or make sure the deal still stacks up as a single let.
• Compete on quality, not density. The council has been clear that good landlords are welcome and rogue operators aren’t. Well-sized rooms, proper shared space and serious management are what will get applications approved and keep tenants staying.

What about Wirral and the rest of Merseyside?

Liverpool isn’t alone. Sefton, Knowsley and Halton have all brought in Article 4 controls for HMOs, and St Helens has committed to borough-wide restrictions. Wirral, the last authority in the city region without them, has now asked its chief planner to examine the case for a borough-wide direction. If you’ve been looking across the river as the alternative, plan on the assumption that the same rules are coming.

Our take

We think this is broadly the right move. Over-concentration genuinely harms neighbourhoods, and it damages the reputation of every landlord running a decent HMO. Shared housing plays an important role in this city, for young professionals, key workers and people starting out, and managing where it goes protects that role rather than undermining it.

Two honest caveats. First, Article 4 controls where HMOs go, not how well they’re run. The problems residents actually complain about (neglect, poor management, overcrowding) are licensing and enforcement issues, and they need properly resourcing. Second, restricting supply while demand holds up is likely to push shared-housing rents higher, a risk the council’s own equality assessment acknowledges.

For landlords, the takeaway is simple: the margin for winging it has gone. Lawful status, solid records, licensing and genuinely good management are now the foundation of what an HMO is worth.

Talk to us about your HMO

We manage HMOs across Liverpool and Wirral, and we’re on top of the detail that matters here: planning status, licensing, compliance and the day-to-day standards that keep a property lettable and defensible.

If you own an HMO in one of the affected areas, or you’re weighing up a purchase, we’ll help you get clear on where you stand and what to do next. Get in touch on 0151 329 3538 or at hello@portuslets.co.uk.

This article is general information, not legal or planning advice. Boundaries and dates are set by the council’s formal notices, so always check the official Article 4 map for your specific address.