Harborne sits within Birmingham City Council, which sets its own HMO standards for room sizes, kitchens and bathrooms. Our designs start from those standards, so the layout we price is designed to meet the council's licensing requirements.
We'll tell you plainly if a house in Harborne 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 Harborne 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 refurbishment in Harborne: what we do
We refurbish existing HMOs in Harborne that have fallen behind current standards, whether the prompt is a licence renewal, a council inspection or rooms that have become hard to let. The survey splits the work into safety, licence and optional items so the priorities are clear.
Where rooms in a Harborne house are still let, we phase the work so tenants keep a working kitchen, bathroom and alarm system throughout. For landlords across the West Midlands, each job ends with updated certificates and photos ready to send to the council.
- Phasing plan that keeps occupied rooms usable
- Room-by-room condition and compliance survey
- Works list split into safety, licence and optional items
- Kitchens, bathrooms, electrics and decoration renewed as agreed
- Fire doors, alarms and escape routes brought up to standard
HMO refurbishment near Harborne
- Selly Oak 1.5 miles
- Bournbrook 1.5 miles
- Edgbaston 1.5 miles
- Smethwick 2.7 miles
- Northfield 2.9 miles
- Moseley 3 miles