Planning guidance
For planning purposes a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) can be small or large:
Small HMO (use class C4)
A small HMO is a property occupied by between three and six unrelated individuals, as their only or main residence, who share basic amenities such as a kitchen or bathroom. Change of use to a small HMO does not typically require planning permission but will require licensing. Physical changes to the building or boundary may require planning permission. Do contact the council to check before you start work.
Large HMO (use class Sui-Generis)
A large HMO is a property occupied by 7 or more people who form more than 1 household. These require planning permission and licensing.
The Gloucester City Plan (2011-2031) (GCP) sets out when planning permission will be granted. All policies in the GCP require consideration but there is also a specific policy for HMOs which says:
Policy A2: Houses in Multiple Occupation
Planning permission for the creation of a House in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) will be permitted where:
- The development would not result in any existing residential property (C3 use) being ‘sandwiched’ between two HMOs; and
- The development would not result in the creation of more than two adjacent properties in HMO use; and
- HMOs, including the proposed development, would represent no more than 10% of properties within a 100-metre radius of the application property.
For further details of how to use this policy, and to see other policy considerations, please refer to Houses in Multiple Occupation – A guide for applicants and decision takers.
The following map displays large HMO properties with a licence for 7 or more occupiers. Here you can draw a 100 metre radius and get a list of all of the properties in the radius.
Instructions
- Tick the white square next to the HMO layer - purple dots will display showing the HMO for 7 or more occupiers
- Navigate to your property
- Zoom to 18 for the purple dots to change to green dots
- Map Tools and Area Search
- Change the distance to 100
- Click on the map to drop the pin and confirm area - a red circle will display the radius
- Apply Search
- From the drop down choose, LLPG Address Points and HMO greater than 7 (editing)
- Click Export Results to Excel and untick Filter Linked Layers
- Apply Area Search - this will download your required output
This data is from September 2024 relating to HMO licensing. For Planning HMO data please search via Public Access.
Full details are in the above guide but when calculating the percentage of HMOs in an area please note the following when using the map:
- The map generates a list of all properties and uses. Only those with a residential element are counted.
- Dwellings that are either within purpose-built blocks of flats, or within houses that have been sub-divided into separate flats, are all counted as one single property, and only the first address point is counted.
- Where a property is in mixed use, the first residential address point is counted.
- When calculating the percentage of HMO properties within the radius the application site is also included as a HMO. Where the percentage is not a whole number, such as 10.3% or 10.9% this shall be rounded down.
Planning and licensing are two different matters. You may not need planning permission but could still need a license from the Council to operate. HMOs with five or more people require a license. Please visit www.gloucester.gov.uk/housing/hmo-licences/housing-in-multipleoccupancy-hmo/ for more information. Please ensure you are familiar with both planning and licensing. Failure to meet the requirements for either planning or licensing can result in enforcement action and fines.