Birmingham City Council is the licensing and planning authority for Birmingham. We check its rules for the exact street before we draw a single partition.
We'll tell you plainly if a house in Birmingham 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 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.
Our HMO safety certificate service in Birmingham
Landlords in Birmingham need the same core certificates as anywhere in England: an annual gas safety record, an EICR at least every 5 years and working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Licence conditions often add fire alarm and emergency lighting servicing to the list.
We arrange checks for HMOs in Birmingham and across the West Midlands, book them before they fall due and keep every date in a compliance diary. Where a report needs remedial work, we quote for it straight away so deadlines are met.
- Compliance diary with every due date in one place
- Fire alarm and emergency lighting servicing certificates
- EICRs by qualified electricians, at least every 5 years
- Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm checks and replacements
- Annual gas safety checks by Gas Safe registered engineers
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.