HMOs in Leicester are set for further restrictions to be made on HMO developments across the city. Leicester first introduced Article 4 in some areas back in 2013 but following a consultation those restrictions are set to be widened.
Leicester City Councillors are will vote on the decision on Friday 18th November 2022. The current Article 4 restrictions in the city have been in place since 2013 having seen that high saturation of HMOs in some places in the city. Leicester’s HMOs reported have saturation ranging from 25% to 38% of the housing stock currently operating in certain conurbations.
The Council ran a public consultation about HMOs in Leicester that lasted for 8 weeks from November 2021 to January 2022. Feedback was received from many of the local residents and the consultation concluded that HMOs are causing litter, anti-social behaviour, parking problems and higher noise levels.
At present, the creation of houses of multiple occupation between 3 and 6 bedrooms is permitted by converting dwelling houses (C3) into HMOs. However, many councils now across the UK have restricted these developments through implementing Article 4 Direction. They can do this if they feel that housing stock needs to be managed (ie maintaining a fair balance between HMOs, domestic residential housing, flats and commercial) or if HMOs are negatively affecting areas such as anti-social behaviour or litter. Please note, currently all HMOs with 7 beds or more always require planning permission.
The current Article 4 on HMOs in Leicester restricts developments in parts of the West End, the area between New Walk and Leicester’s prison, Clarendon Park, Lancaster Road, areas around De Montford University’s campus and around the hospital.
The proposal to extend Article 4 would now affect house shares in Leicester in Rowley Fields, Westcotes, Newfoundpool, parts of the Waterside area, Knighton Fields, Knighton, Stoneygate, and parts of Aylestone. A new area would also be restricted in Spinney Hills and Highfields.
If you are looking for HMOs for sale in Leicester then now is probably a great time to purchase. Where Article 4 restrictions have been rolled out it has generally been a good sign for existing HMO landlords for rental and capital appreciation growth.
