Housetrix research · September 2026
The Article 4 map of England: where councils restrict HMOs and office-to-home conversions
As of September 2026, the government's national planning dataset records 7,275 Article 4 direction areas across 137 English councils. An Article 4 direction removes a specific permitted development right in a defined area, and the rights removed vary a lot. We sorted every area by what it actually restricts.
103
areas restrict HMO conversions, in 45 councils
1,600
areas restrict commercial-to-residential conversions, in 29 councils
5,572
areas cover home alterations, conservation details and other rights
Counts are records, not land area. HMO directions are often a single large area covering a whole district or city, so a council with one HMO record can restrict far more homes than a council with hundreds of street-level conservation records.
Councils restricting HMO conversions
Normally, turning a family home into a small house-share (a C3 to C4 change of use) needs no planning permission. Inside these areas it does. 45 councils have at least one HMO Article 4 area in the national dataset; these are the 20 with the most records. Each name links to that area's data page.
Councils blocking office-to-home conversions
The most common modern use of Article 4 by volume: removing the right to turn shops, offices and other commercial buildings into homes without planning permission (Class MA and related rights), usually to protect high streets and employment land. The 10 councils with the most records:
Why this matters
For HMO investors: inside an HMO Article 4 area, the standard conversion needs a full planning application, with no guarantee of approval. Buying “to convert” without checking is one of the most expensive mistakes in property, because the deal maths changes completely when consent is uncertain. But an Article 4 direction elsewhere on the same street may be about windows or front walls, which is why the type matters.
For conversion developers: where councils have switched off commercial-to-residential rights, turning an empty shop or office into flats goes through full planning. That affects the supply of new homes as well as developer returns.
For residents: Article 4 is a council's lever over how neighbourhoods change. This dataset shows which councils are using it, and for what.
Check any address in seconds
Every area is on our free interactive map. Search a postcode to see whether it sits in an Article 4 area and what that area restricts.
Methodology and how to cite
Source: the article-4-direction-area dataset on planning.data.gov.uk (Open Government Licence v3.0): 7,314 live records as of September 2026, excluding revoked directions. We assigned each record to an English local authority by locating its centre within official boundaries (7,275 placed).
Classification: each record lists the permitted development rights it removes, using the General Permitted Development Order codes. Part 3 Class L (dwellinghouse to small HMO) marks an HMO direction; Part 3 Classes MA, M, N, O, P and J mark commercial and other conversions to residential. Councils fill this field inconsistently, so we also match the record's name, description and notes (for example “houses in multiple occupation”). Everything else counts as other.
Known limits: the dataset only contains what each council has published to it, so absence is not evidence of absence. Some councils with well-known HMO directions (Manchester, for example) have not submitted their data, and other counts differ: the NRLA estimates 75 to 80 councils use HMO Article 4 directions nationally, more than the 45 visible here. Counts are records, not land area or homes covered.
Cite as: “Housetrix Article 4 monitor, September 2026 (planning.data.gov.uk data)”, with a link to this page. Per-record data: /data/article4-points.json (field k is the type); per-council counts by type: /data/article4-counts.json. Free to reuse with attribution. Questions: @housetrix.