Lichfield district has 11 licensed HMOs, too few for an Article 4 curb, the council says. A national landlord register starts in the West Midlands in December.

Lichfield District Council has found too few houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) to justify new controls on them. Officers say there is not enough evidence to bring in an Article 4 Direction, which would make landlords seek planning permission to turn a family home into a small shared house.

There are 11 licensed HMOs in the whole district, the council says. That is 0.02% of households.

The findings are in a briefing to the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which meets on Tuesday 17 November. Cabinet asked officers early in 2026 to look at whether extra controls were needed.

What the council found

An HMO is a home shared by people from more than one household, usually with their own bedrooms and a shared kitchen or bathroom. The briefing reports:

  • 11 licensed HMOs in the district, plus 3 more properties being monitored that are below the licensing threshold
  • 4 complaints or referrals about HMOs in three years, all in the last 12 months. That is 1.1% of all housing standards complaints in the period.
  • Of those four, three needed no action against the landlord. The fourth, about a possible illegal eviction, arrived the week the briefing was written and is being investigated.
  • The council’s community safety team had no HMO complaints in the last 12 months.

To look for unlicensed HMOs, officers checked planning records, rental websites, anonymised electoral register and council tax data, and requests for extra bin capacity. Environmental protection officers then visited every potential property with four or more bedrooms. Those visits found one property that needed a licence. Its licence is now being processed.

Why there will be no Article 4 Direction

An Article 4 Direction removes the automatic right to convert a house into a small HMO for three to six people. To make one, a council has to show the HMOs are concentrated enough to cause harm. The briefing says Lichfield’s evidence “does not demonstrate the level of concentration or harm needed”.

The May 2025 housing needs study for Lichfield and Tamworth reached the same view. The evidence “does not support the implementation of an Article 4 Direction in any part of the study area”, it said.

Officers also ruled out an additional licensing scheme, which would extend licensing to smaller HMOs.

How it compares across Staffordshire

Only two Staffordshire councils have HMO Article 4 Directions, the briefing says:

  • East Staffordshire, covering a defined area of Burton upon Trent
  • Newcastle-under-Lyme, covering five streets. Its full council is due to vote on a new Article 4 Direction on 25 November.

South Staffordshire, Stafford, Cannock Chase and Tamworth told Lichfield they were not considering one.

A national landlord register is coming

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 sets up a national register of private landlords and the homes they let. The briefing says it will be phased in from December 2026, “commencing in the West Midlands”. Landlords will have to record the number of rooms and households in each property. The council expects the register to show how many smaller HMOs there really are.

What it means for you

  • If you live next to a shared house that is causing problems, such as noise, rubbish, parking or poor conditions, report it to the council. The briefing says reports are considered and, where appropriate, investigated and recorded, and that they would inform any future review of controls. The council’s contact page lists the ways to get in touch.
  • If you rent a room in a shared house with five or more people from two or more households, the landlord needs an HMO licence. That is the national threshold for a mandatory licence.
  • If you are a landlord, watch for the new register opening. The briefing says it starts in the West Midlands.

The committee is asked to note the work and to scrutinise it. No decision is being taken.