We plan each HMO en-suite installation job in Staffordshire around the local council's amenity standards, which set out kitchen, bathroom and room-size requirements for shared houses.
In Staffordshire, as everywhere in England, a house with five or more people forming two or more households needs a mandatory HMO licence. Some councils go further with additional licensing or Article 4 directions, as the table shows.
HMO rules across Staffordshire's councils
| Council | Additional licensing | Selective licensing | Article 4 (small HMOs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannock Chase District Council | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| East Staffordshire Borough Council | None found | In part of the area Parts of Burton until 11 September 2027. A new scheme for 16 Burton streets runs 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2031 | Not confirmed |
| Lichfield District Council | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Proposed The council is investigating a borough-wide direction; none in force when checked |
| South Staffordshire Council | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Stafford Borough Council | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Staffordshire Moorlands District Council | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Stoke-on-Trent City Council | Proposed A citywide scheme was proposed in August 2026, subject to consultation | Not confirmed | In force Whole city, immediate direction from 23 October 2026. It lapses unless the council confirms it within six months |
| Tamworth Borough Council | Proposed Consultation on licensing three and four person HMOs closed 20 August 2026; no decision found | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
Checked October 2026. Mandatory licensing for five or more people applies in every council. Schemes change, so we confirm the position for the address before work starts.
Councils in Staffordshire where we found an Article 4 direction for small HMOs in force, in all or part of their area: Stoke-on-Trent City Council. Article 4 directions are due to start or proposed in: Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council. We found no additional licensing schemes in force that we could confirm, so the mandatory licence for five or more people is the main one to plan for.
En-suite installation in Staffordshire: what we do
We fit en-suite shower rooms in HMO bedrooms across Staffordshire, starting with a check that each bedroom still meets its size standard once the en-suite is built. Councils take different views on whether en-suite floor area counts, so we confirm the local position first.
Older houses often have joists running the wrong way and soil stacks in fixed positions, so in Staffordshire we check the drainage route under the floor before quoting. Every en-suite we fit in Staffordshire is finished with a ducted fan, certified electrics and fire stopping.
- Shower, toilet, basin and wipe-clean wall finish fitted
- Bedroom measured to confirm it still meets size standards
- Electrical work tested and certified
- Fire stopping where pipes pass through floors and walls
- Extract fan ducted to outside with overrun control