Demand for HMOs in Coventry is high. There are many factors for this. The first is that Coventry has high tenant demand, both for student and professional tenants.  Coventry has high demand for professional HMO tenants, particularly with it historical links with the manufacturing trade. There is also reasonable demand for HMO rooms in neighbouring Nuneaton and Rugby. 

Out of all the rooms available in Coventry, some 90% of rooms are doubles and around 20% are single rooms. Over half of Coventry HMO rooms have ensuites. Rental values are markedly higher than they are up North, with the highest percentile of room rents in Coventry falling between £450 and £600. Around 12% of rooms are listed for above £600 per month.

There are very few HMO rooms located in the centre of Coventry, with the vast majority of them being located around the East of the city congregating around the University campus. 

So if you are looking to develop HMOs in Birkenhead there is scope to develop more rooms with ensuites. 

There is very high demand for Student HMOs in Coventry. The main reason is there are a whopping 4 Universities in the city. The biggest cluster of student HMO properties in Coventry is located to the North East of the city and located between Coventry College and Coventry University. The University of Warwick is located South West of the City and as such as there is another cluster of Student HMOs in that area. There is a fourth University called Arden Uni but there doesn’t appear to be high demand for HMO rooms in that area. 

There is a final cluster of HMO rooms that is popular with both student and professional tenants located to the West of Coventry City Centre. 

The average size HMO in Coventry is 6 beds. 4 and 5 bed HMOs are also common. There is some purpose built student accommodation in Coventry which is significantly larger than a Sui Generis HMO and are more “pod” style HMOs or mini flats. There are larger HMOs of 7 beds and more in Coventry which require planning permission, aswell as large HMOs above 10 bedrooms. 

Unfortunately we do not provide any recommendations for third party HMO letting agents in Coventry. If we can assist with helping to source a specialist letting agency in Coventry then please feel free to contact us.  

Currently, there is no article 4 in Coventry, however there is a consultation with the general public currently underway with the view for it to be introduced. The consultation period runs until the end of November 2022 and the Council will decide if it should be introduced. It is highly unlikely that it will not be introduced. If Article 4 does come into effect in Coventry then it will be introduced in September 2023. You can read our blog all about Article 4 in Coventry. 

Any HMO that has 5 or more rooms over 2 or more floors must have a mandatory HMO licence in Coventry. As standard, HMOs that comprise of 4 or fewer bedrooms do not need an HMO licence unless there is a Selective Licensing scheme that is run by the Council. Coventry is unique as there is a require for HMO landlords with few than 5 bedrooms to have an HMO License, which was introduced on 4th May 2020. This requirement has also been extended to certain types of flats. The application for this HMO license is the same for all sizes, both above and below 5 bedrooms and you can apply for this on Coventry Council’s website. Licensing for HMOs is required across the whole of Coventry and has been termed “Coventry City Council Designation for an Area for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation 2020”. 

During the Consultation that was run by Coventry Council in the first quarter of 2019, it was determined that Selective Licensing would not be introduced. 

If you have an HMO rented to 6 or less tenants, you do not require planning permission to convert to an HMO in Coventry, as permitted development rights allow you to change the use of property from a dwelling house (C3) to a house in multiple occupation (C4). 

If you have a 7 bedroom and bigger house of multiple occupancy, then nationally you are required to have planning permission as Sui Generis HMO.