Shared houses in Birmingham need to satisfy Birmingham City Council's licensing team as well as building regulations. We plan for both from the first survey, which avoids rework later.
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 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 kitchen and bathroom service in Birmingham
We design and fit communal kitchens and shared bathrooms for HMOs in Birmingham, sized to the amenity standards the local council applies to the number of people in the house. Those standards differ between councils, so we check the current version for Birmingham before drawing anything.
Fittings for houses in Birmingham are chosen for heavy daily use: sealed worktops, wipe-clean wall panels, separate food storage and isolation valves on every fitting. Across the West Midlands, each kitchen gets the heat detection and fire blanket the fire risk assessment calls for.
- Heavy-duty units, sealed worktops and slip-resistant flooring
- Heat detection and fire blanket where required
- Extract ventilation and certified electrical work
- Separate food storage space for each occupant
- Layout sized to your council's amenity standards
Letting to students and sharers in Birmingham
Birmingham is close to a university or college campus, so students and young professionals are part of the local rental market. If that is your market, layouts with en-suites, a generous kitchen and secure bike storage are worth planning in from the start.