Most of the cost and risk in an HMO is decided at the design stage. In Saltley we start by measuring every room and checking Birmingham City Council's position on licensing and planning, then build the specification around it.
We'll tell you plainly if a house in Saltley isn't suited to the number of rooms you have in mind, and what it would take to make it work.
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 Saltley 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.
HMO fire safety works in Saltley: what we do
We carry out HMO fire safety works in Saltley 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 Saltley rarely need the same measures.
Typical jobs in Saltley 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.
- Mains-wired interlinked smoke and heat detection
- Emergency lighting where the escape route needs it
- Fire doors fitted with self-closers, seals and correct gaps
- Specification taken from the fire risk assessment and council standards
- Fire stopping around pipes, cables, hatches and cupboards
HMO fire safety works near Saltley
- Birmingham under a mile
- Aston 1.4 miles
- Perry Barr 2.4 miles
- Yardley 2.7 miles
- Edgbaston 3.3 miles
- Moseley 3.3 miles