Specified Supported Accommodation and Houses of Multiple Occupation
Summary of Actions
To achieve its aims, the Council are committed to taking the following actions;
HMO – General, Temporary and Supported
In recent years, the Council has witnessed a steady increase in the number of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in Hyndburn. Whilst it is acknowledged that HMOs have widened the housing choice within the Borough, particularly providing affordable accommodation for young professionals, alongside low-income households who might be economically inactive or working in low paid jobs, and tackling the issues of a large number of vacant dwellings within the Borough, a high concentration of HMOs can result in the reduction of family dwellings, adverse impact on the amenity of the existing communities, and make places less attractive or enjoyable to live in due to waste management, parking issues, and noise concerns.
In order to apply more control over HMOs in the Borough, the Council formally introduced an Article 4 Direction removing permitted development rights for changes of use from C3 (dwellinghouses) to C4 (Houses in Multiple Occupation, or HMOs). The Direction came into force on the 15th of March 2026. From this date, planning permission is required for the conversion of a residential property into an HMO within the following wards:
- Barnfield
- Central
- Church
- Clayton-le-Moors
- Peel
- Netherton
- Rishton
- Spring Hill
- St. Andrew’s
In these wards, planning permission will be required for any new HMO conversions that were not already ready for occupation or occupied as HMOs by 15th of March 2026. Further information is available on the Council’s website under Conservation Areas in Hyndburn – Article 4 Directions and Heritage.
The Council has now also formally introduced an immediate Article 4 Direction covering the wards of Altham, Baxenden, Huncoat, Immanuel, Milnshaw, Overton and St Oswalds.
The Direction came into force on 22 May 2026 and removes permitted development rights for changes of use from Class C3 (dwellinghouses) to Class C4 (houses in multiple occupation, or HMOs).
In combination with the existing Article 4 Direction covering the wards of Barnfield, Central, Church, Clayton-le-Moors, Peel, Netherton, Rishton, Spring Hill and St Andrew’s (as noted above), these permitted development rights have now been removed across the whole borough. As a result, planning permission will now be required for any new HMO conversions within Hyndburn.
The Council is undertaking a consultation on the Immediate Article 4 Direction. Further information, including details on how to participate in the consultation, is available here: https://www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk/planningpolicy/
The removal of permitted development rights will help prevent the uncontrolled expansion of HMOs and may deliver positive benefits for local communities by protecting residential amenity and limiting the intensification of social and economic issues associated with high concentrations of HMOs.
The Article 4 Directions will also enable the Council to take a more proactive approach to managing the location and distribution of HMOs across the borough, supporting wider planning and housing objectives.
The Council has also adopted the Residential Conversion and HMO Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) which provides guidance on how the Council will determine planning applications for HMOs in the Borough.
The guidance can be found at Supplementary Planning Documents and Guidance (SPDs and SPGs) | Hyndburn Borough Council.
Specified Supported Accommodation
- Introduction of a Supported Housing licensing scheme to enforce minimum standards and licence conditions under The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 to;
- tackle any poor-quality Supported Housing and protect the residents that live in that accommodation.
- set out minimum standards of use, care needs assessment and provision of care, support and supervision
- ensure that the scheme is managed and controlled by a fit and proper person / organisation
- ensure compliance with National Standards
- Sharing of information relating to licensing between Local Authorities, Regulators, and Government bodies;
- Assess future need for supported accommodation and develop strategies for the next five years
The Government ran a consultation from the 20th February 2025 to the 15th May 2025 regarding Supported Housing regulation, which can be viewed using the following link, Supported Housing regulation: consultation – GOV.UK.The webpage advises the feedback is being analysed and interested parties should “Visit this page again soon to download the outcome to this public feedback.”