Immediate Article 4 Direction - Consultations

Bolton Council is now seeking representations (comments) on introducing the immediate Article 4 Direction.

The Council has gathered evidence that shows that the ability to convert a family home into a small House of Multiple Occupation (HMO), without planning permission, is having a negative impact on residents and stakeholders throughout the borough and has therefore introduced an immediate Article 4 Direction to address this.

The immediate Article 4 Direction will be applied to the whole of the borough, resulting in anyone who wants to convert a family home into a HMO (of any size) will need to apply for planning permission.

Note: An Article 4 Direction does not mean a planning application for a small HMO would be automatically refused.

Useful information

Please view our Frequently Asked Questions document, prior to completing this survey.

You can download a copy of the immediate Article 4 Direction, including a map defining the area and associated documents below.

• HMO Article 4 Direction Cabinet Report June 2025 (Including the EIA)
• HMO Article 4 Direction Background Document April 2025
• Proposed Article 4 Boundary Map 2025
• Notice of Making the Article Direction 2025
• Sealed copy of the Immediate Article 4 Direction 2025

Survey

If you require a paper copy of the survey or would like support to complete the survey, please contact the consultation team on 01204 334875, leaving your name, address and telephone number and the name of the consultation you are interested in, ‘Immediate Article 4 Direction’.