Birmingham City Council is the licensing and planning authority for Handsworth. We check its rules for the exact street before we draw a single partition.
Our team is based in Great Barr, Birmingham, about 4 miles from Handsworth. That keeps survey visits, site meetings and follow-up inspections easy to arrange.
HMO rules in Birmingham City Council
| Rule | Birmingham City Council |
|---|---|
| Mandatory HMO licence (5+ people) | In force everywhere in England |
| Additional HMO licensing | In force Whole city, 5 June 2023 to 4 June 2028 |
| Selective licensing | In part of the area 25 of the city's 69 wards, 5 June 2023 to 4 June 2028 |
| Article 4 direction for small HMOs | In force Whole city, in force since 8 June 2020 |
Checked October 2026 against Birmingham City Council's HMO licensing page. Schemes change, so we confirm the position for your address before any work starts.
Birmingham City Council has an Article 4 direction across its whole area, so turning a family house in Handsworth into a small HMO needs planning permission. We prepare the planning application before any conversion work starts. Seven or more occupants always needs planning permission. Birmingham City Council also runs additional licensing across its whole area (until 4 June 2028), so smaller HMOs with three or four people from two or more households need a licence too.
Our HMO fire safety service in Handsworth
We carry out HMO fire safety works in Handsworth to a written specification taken from the fire risk assessment and the local council's HMO standards. That keeps the work proportionate, because a small two-storey house and a large three-storey one in Handsworth rarely need the same measures.
Typical jobs in Handsworth include fire doors with self-closers, interlinked alarms, emergency lighting and fire stopping of hidden gaps. Every job across the West Midlands ends with commissioning certificates, photos of concealed work and a logbook for routine tests.
- Specification taken from the fire risk assessment and council standards
- Fire stopping around pipes, cables, hatches and cupboards
- Fire doors fitted with self-closers, seals and correct gaps
- Emergency lighting where the escape route needs it
- Commissioning certificates, logbook and photos of concealed work
HMO fire safety works near Handsworth
- Smethwick 1.5 miles
- Perry Barr 1.8 miles
- Aston 2.3 miles
- West Bromwich 2.4 miles
- Great Barr 2.7 miles
- Edgbaston 3.2 miles