Councillors set to approve proposed extra planning checks for shared houses
Added at 09:04 on 15 April 2026
Councillors are set to introduce extra planning checks on new shared houses in and around Hinckley town centre, following a public consultation which showed strong support for the council bringing in an Article 4 Direction.
At a meeting next week (22 April 2026), members of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council’s Executive Committee will consider a report on the public consultation held earlier this year (19 February to 27 March 2026) and the evidence for a proposed Article 4 Direction. The council’s Leader has said the authority now intends to proceed with introducing the Article 4 Direction, reflecting the strong consultation response, and the report will be considered as part of the formal decision‑making process.
An Article 4 Direction is a planning rule that removes the automatic right to change a family home into a small shared house, known as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), within a set area. If confirmed, anyone wanting to create a new small HMO in the area covered would need to apply for planning permission. Existing lawful HMOs would not be affected.
The proposal was published earlier this year, following an Executive Committee decision in January to consult on a draft Article 4 Direction for a defined area in and around Hinckley town centre. This was raised in response to concerns from residents, councillors and local communities about the growing concentration of shared houses in some areas, which can bring issues such as parking pressure, waste problems, noise and disturbance, and pressure on local services.
National planning rules require Article 4 Directions to be evidence‑led and focused on specific areas, which is why the proposal does not apply borough‑wide.
A total of 656 consultation responses were received from residents, landlords, letting agents, businesses, councillors, charities and other stakeholders. The consultation response was overwhelmingly in favour of introducing an Article 4 Direction, with around two thirds of those who answered the question supporting the proposal, around a quarter opposing it, and the remainder unsure.
Those who supported the Article 4 Direction asked that the council sought to manage where shared houses are concentrated and to have more say over issues such as parking, rubbish and noise. Those who opposed it raised concerns about the supply of lower‑cost shared housing and whether well‑run shared houses should be subject to additional planning controls.
Some consultation responses also referred to the use of some HMOs to accommodate asylum seekers in the borough. The report makes it clear the Borough Council does not operate the asylum accommodation programme, and the proposed Article 4 Direction is limited to introducing planning controls for new small HMOs in a defined area. It notes that HMOs are not solely used for asylum accommodation, adding they are an essential part of the local housing mix, providing affordable, practical homes for residents who would otherwise struggle to secure accommodation and play an important role in keeping the local housing market working.
Stuart Bray, Leader of Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council, said: “Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their views in the consultation – it really does help us get this right. A lot of people also raised concerns about asylum accommodation in the borough, and I want to acknowledge that. It’s important to remember the Borough Council does not operate the asylum accommodation programme. The Article 4 Direction is about making sure new HMOs in the area are properly planned and managed. I’ll be asking officers to keep a close eye on this borough-wide, and if we see similar pressures building up elsewhere, we’ll look to extend the area we’re considering.