Burnley Borough Council has formally made its further Burnley HMO Article 4 Direction, moving controls for the borough’s final six wards from proposal into the statutory consultation stage.
The non-immediate Direction was made on 25th September 2026. Consultation opened the same day and runs until 5pm on 6th November 2026. If the Direction is later confirmed, it is scheduled to come into force on 27th September 2027.
That matters because the six wards are the only parts of Burnley not already covered by the council’s existing HMO Article 4. Confirmation would therefore give Burnley borough-wide planning control over future changes from C3 dwellinghouses to C4 small HMOs.
Burnley HMO Article 4 is now being introduced for six additional wards
The Article 4 Direction covers Briercliffe, Cliviger with Worsthorne, Coalclough with Deerplay, Hapton with Park, Lanehead and Whittlefield with Ightenhill.
Burnley’s statutory notice confirms the making date and consultation period. The Direction and attached plan is a Direction made without immediate effect and identify 27th September 2027 as the date it is intended to come into force. Which essentially means HMO landlords have 12 months notice in the wards affected.
Planning Geek reported Burnley’s proposed extension in August. The position has now moved on materially. The Direction has been executed and the statutory consultation is under way, but it has not yet been confirmed.
Burnley points to 21 additional small HMOs outside the current area
Burnley’s July 2026 background and evidence document says updated monitoring identified 21 additional HMOs in the six wards outside the existing Article 4 boundary compared with its 2023 dataset. The council records all 21 as small Class C4 HMOs.
The largest recorded increases were in Lanehead and Coalclough with Deerplay, with eight additional HMOs in each ward. Hapton with Park increased by two and Whittlefield with Ightenhill by three, while Briercliffe and Cliviger with Worsthorne showed no increase in the comparison.
Officers also pointed to Burnley’s continuing attraction to HMO investors and the possibility that tighter controls in neighbouring Lancashire authorities could increase pressure on parts of Burnley where the permitted development right remained available.
Councillor Howard Baker, the council’s Executive Member for Housing and Planning, said removing the right “won’t prevent HMOs being created but it will give the council more control over how many there are and where.”
He made the point in Burnley’s 25th September consultation announcement. The practical effect of an Article 4 Direction is to require a planning application for the C3-to-C4 change, rather than to impose a blanket ban on HMOs.
But it is not yet confirmed or in force….
There are several legal stages here, and the distinction matters. Making the Direction allows Burnley to serve notice, consult and set a future operative date. It does not itself remove the permitted development right in the six wards.
After consultation, the council must consider the representations before deciding whether to confirm the Direction. Burnley’s background report describes this as the second stage of the process and says material changes could require further consultation.
Until confirmation and the operative date, the six wards remain outside the new restriction. The relevant permitted development right is the C3-to-C4 limb of Class L, subject of course to the usual property-specific checks and any other planning restrictions.
The Burnley HMO Article 4 Direction would regulate future reliance on that permitted development right. It does not, by itself, make an existing lawful C4 HMO unlawful, nor does it mean future HMO planning applications must be refused.
What is important however is that landlords move at least 3 unrelated people into a property before it does come into effect, which is likely to be 27th September 2027. Landlords should mark that date on their calendars now – miss it and you will require planning permission.
Executive decision is expected in spring 2027
Consultation closes at 5pm on 6th November 2026. Burnley says the responses will then be reported to the Executive in spring 2027. The July timetable envisaged an Executive decision in April 2027.
Residents, landlords, owners and other interested parties can make representations during the consultation period. Burnley’s notice gives [email protected] for emailed responses, with postal representations also accepted by the council’s Economy and Growth team.
If the Direction is confirmed, it is intended to come into force on 27th September 2027. That would bring the remaining six wards into line with the rest of Burnley and complete borough-wide HMO Article 4 coverage for the C3-to-C4 permitted development right.
Burnley’s existing Direction covers nine wards. It was made on 13th October 2023, confirmed on 19th June 2024 and became operative on 14th October 2024.
For now, then, Burnley has one operative nine-ward Direction and a second six-ward Direction that has been made and is being consulted on, but is neither confirmed nor operative. Planning Geek’s HMO Article 4 map and council index records both stages separately.
Do I need to apply for a certificate of lawfulness in this part of Burnley before 27th September 2027?
No, there is no need to apply for a certificate of lawfulness in Briercliffe, Cliviger with Worsthorne, Coalclough with Deerplay, Hapton with Park, Lanehead and Whittlefield with Ightenhill areas of Burnley before 27th September 2027.
Class L is a permitted development right, and provided your property has not had that right removed, either via an Article 4 (only in parts of Burnley) or a previous planning decisions (unlikely), you will have rights to convert the property to an HMO without any further planning application. Don’t waste your money where it isn’t required.
if you are in any doubt, please reach out to Planning Geek for help. Click here.
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