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14/7/25 8:13 pm
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Landlords in Bury hoping to convert their property to an HMO could soon have to meet tougher planning restrictions.
The local council is collating evidence for a potential Article 4 Direction which, if justified, will be taken to its planning control committee by the end of the year. It is also working on updated supplementary planning guidance for HMOs and reviewing licensing standards and guidance for HMO landlords.
Neighbouring areas such as Salford, Oldham and Tameside already have Article 4 directions in place which resident Alex Abbey told a recent cabinet meeting was leading landlords from these boroughs to look to Bury for developments that would get rejected by its neighbours. He told councillors: “Every week taken on this, an area of our borough is further strained by another HMO popping up as landlords rush to get sub-standard conversions that wouldn’t be approved done.”
Council leader Eamonn O’Brien (pictured) said any proposed Article 4 Direction must be based on robust local evidence to support the decision and secure against challenge.
He explained that the council uses its private sector housing and licensing teams to review those HMOs that don’t require the standard guidance or licence due to their size. “We don’t have an existing record we can use, we have to build one. Some of that might be from council tax data, some from local intelligence; our intention is to have as full a register as possible so we can ensure things like safety, security, and fire safety, as well as finding those which require licences.”
O’Brien added: “We will do what we can to be as quick and as comprehensive as possible in terms of getting that new guidance and potential Article 4 Direction in place by the end of the year.”
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