Landlords in Birmingham deal with Birmingham City Council for licensing, planning and housing standards. We keep those three in view together, so a layout that suits the licence also works for planning and building control.
You get one point of contact for the whole job, a fixed price for the agreed specification and a written programme showing when each stage happens.
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 Birmingham into a small HMO needs planning permission. We check the planning history of the address as part of any licence work. 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 floor plans for Birmingham landlords
Licence applications for HMOs in Birmingham commonly need a floor plan showing room sizes, room use, fire safety features and amenities. We measure the house on site, check the format the council asks for and draw plans that match the property as it is today.
For landlords across the West Midlands, our plans also support planning applications, building control and fire risk assessments. If you have changed the layout of a house in Birmingham, we can update existing plans before a renewal, variation or sale.
- Floor areas in square metres, with 1.5 m ceiling exclusions
- Plans supplied as PDF in your council's usual format
- On-site measurement of every room and floor
- Fire doors, detectors, alarm panel and emergency lighting shown
- Room use and intended occupancy marked for each bedroom
Student and sharer lets in Birmingham
If the house in Birmingham is let to students or sharers, up-to-date certificates, measured plans and a current fire risk assessment make any council inspection more straightforward, and they are usually asked for with a licence application.