Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of granting additional powers for planning authorities to control new House of Multiple Occupation conversions.

The government keeps the powers to regulate HMOs under review.

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework. The consultation on the revised framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals for a more flexible Article 4 policy so local planning authorities can remove permitted development rights where it is necessary to protect the amenity or wellbeing of an area, for instance where there is an overconcentration of small Houses in Multiple Occupation.

We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.