Bury HMO Article 4 Direction takes immediate effect borough-wide

Bury Council has brought an immediate borough-wide Article 4 Direction into effect, removing the permitted development right that would normally allow a dwellinghouse in Use Class C3 to change to a small HMO in Use Class C4 without a planning application.

The formal Direction was made under Article 4(1) on 10 July 2026. Bury Council says it came into effect across the whole borough on 16 July 2026, when consultation began. That means the restriction is already operative: a new material change from C3 to C4 now requires planning permission in Bury.

The consultation closes on 27 August 2026. The Council must then decide whether to confirm the Direction. Because Bury chose the immediate route, there is also a potential Article 4 compensation issue which deserves rather more attention than a footnote.

What has the Bury HMO Article 4 Direction actually done?

Bury’s Direction is expressly a Direction with immediate effect under Article 4(1) and paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 to the GPDO. The land covered is the whole Borough of Bury.

The Council’s formal notice records that the Direction was made on 10 July 2026. Its public Article 4 page states that it came into effect on 16 July 2026. Consultation runs from 16 July to 27 August 2026.

This is different from a delayed Article 4 Direction. There is no future implementation date to wait for: the Article 4 Direction is already removing the specified permitted development right while the consultation and confirmation process continues.

Class L: the C3 to C4 right Bury has withdrawn

Class L of Part 3 of Schedule 2 to the GPDO grants permitted development rights for movement between C3 dwellinghouses and C4 small HMOs. Bury’s Direction withdraws Class L(b), the limb which permits a building to change from C3 to C4.

In practical terms, a material change from a C3 dwellinghouse to a C4 small HMO now needs a planning application throughout Bury. C4 broadly covers occupation by three to six residents as their only or main residence, forming more than one household and sharing basic amenities.

Larger HMOs do not rely on this C3-to-C4 Class L right in any event. Bury’s own guidance notes that HMOs with seven or more inhabitants already require planning permission as a change to a sui generis HMO use.

Existing lawful HMOs have not been made unlawful

The Direction is not retrospective. A small HMO which lawfully changed to C4 before the Direction took effect does not suddenly become unlawful because Bury has removed the permitted development right for future changes.

Where the planning status of an existing HMO matters for a sale, refinancing or enforcement risk, evidence is still important. Bury points owners towards a lawful development certificate where they want formal confirmation that the C4 use was already lawful. Our guide to lawful development certificates where an Article 4 Direction is involved explains why proving the date and nature of the use can matter.

Planning status and HMO licensing remain separate regimes. A licence does not itself prove that planning permission was unnecessary or that a C4 use was lawfully established.

Why Bury says an immediate Direction is necessary

Bury says it is responding to concerns about the increasing number of HMOs and wants new proposals to provide a good standard of accommodation while avoiding unacceptable impacts on neighbours and the character of an area.

Its FAQ explains the statutory threshold for using the immediate procedure in these terms: the authority considers that the development would be prejudicial to the proper planning of the area or would constitute a threat to local amenity. The Direction does not create a blanket ban on HMOs. It brings proposed C3-to-C4 changes into the planning application system so that their individual impacts can be assessed.

Immediate effect and confirmation are two different things

There are two dates to keep separate. First, the Direction already has effect, so planning permission is required now for new C3-to-C4 changes. Second, Bury must still complete consultation, consider the representations and decide whether to confirm the Direction.

Government planning guidance says an immediate Article 4 Direction must be confirmed within six months of coming into effect if it is to remain in force. Bury says the same on its consultation page. If it is not confirmed within that period, it expires.

Confirmation is therefore about whether the Direction continues. It is not the event which first switches on the current restriction.

Compensation: why Bury’s immediate approach matters

This is the practical point that distinguishes Bury from authorities which give a 12-month lead-in before an Article 4 Direction takes effect. Bury’s Direction was made on 10 July and took effect on 16 July 2026, so the Council did not give 12 months’ advance notice before Class L(b) was withdrawn. It has therefore not used the delayed-notice mechanism which, where the statutory procedure is followed, can exclude compensation liability for prescribed permitted development rights. Our Article 4 legislation guide explains the Direction procedure, while the Article 4 compensation guide deals with the separate claim framework.

That creates potential exposure for Bury, but it does not give every affected owner an automatic right to compensation. Confirmation of the Direction is also a separate matter: confirmation decides whether the Direction remains in force, not whether any particular claimant satisfies the compensation tests.

What has to happen before compensation can arise?

Government Planning Practice Guidance explains that liability can arise where permitted development rights have been withdrawn and the authority subsequently:

• refuses planning permission for development which would otherwise have been permitted development
• grants planning permission subject to conditions more limiting than those which applied under the GPDO

The statutory framework is principally in section 108 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, which applies the compensation principles in section 107, together with the Town and Country Planning (Compensation) (England) Regulations 2015.

Class L of Part 3 is prescribed by regulation 2 of the 2015 Regulations. Section 108(2A) limits this compensation route to cases where the planning application for the formerly permitted development is made before the end of 12 months beginning with the date on which the Direction took effect.

For Bury, the relevant application window is therefore the 12-month period beginning on 16 July 2026. A later application is not brought back within the regime simply because the Direction remains in force.

The proposed development must also genuinely have benefited from Class L(b) before the Direction. A larger sui generis HMO, a building which was not lawfully in C3 use, or a proposal otherwise excluded from Class L does not become compensable merely because planning permission is refused.

If an application made within the statutory window is refused or approved with more restrictive conditions, a compensation claim must normally be made in writing and served within 12 months of the decision in respect of which the claim is made, unless the Secretary of State allows a longer period in that particular case.

What loss may be relevant?

The recoverable heads are not unlimited. Government guidance describes them as abortive expenditure or other loss or damage directly attributable to the withdrawal of the permitted development right.

Potentially relevant abortive expenditure may include work rendered abortive by the withdrawal and expenditure on plans, drawings, surveys, professional advice and similar preparatory matters. Other loss or damage may also qualify, but only where it is directly attributable to the withdrawal and properly evidenced.

This is not a blanket reimbursement of an expected development profit, purchase premium or wider business loss. The claimant must satisfy the statutory gateway, prove causation and establish the amount claimed.

Why many councils use a delayed Direction

Section 108 provides a route by which compensation can be excluded where prescribed development rights are withdrawn in the prescribed manner and notice is published at least 12 months before the restriction takes effect. That is why many authorities delay implementation for a full year. Bury has not taken that route: its restriction took effect immediately, with less than 12 months’ notice.

That is a major reason many HMO Article 4 Directions are made with a delayed implementation date. Havering, for example, is currently consulting on a borough-wide HMO direction with a proposed one-year lead-in. See our report on the Havering HMO Article 4 Direction.

Bury has deliberately chosen immediate planning control instead. That may be justified by the planning harm it identifies, but it also means the compensation provisions cannot simply be ignored.

Our detailed guide to Article 4 compensation claims explains the wider framework.

What should an owner or developer do now?

If a dwelling in Bury has not already lawfully changed to C4, do not assume Class L remains available. The borough-wide Direction is in effect now.

For a project caught by the change, the sensible starting points are:

• establish the property’s existing lawful use and whether any C4 use began before 16 July 2026
• check whether the proposal truly falls within C4 rather than a larger sui generis HMO
• if a new C3-to-C4 change is proposed, assess it as a planning application against Bury’s relevant policies and HMO guidance
• where compensation might realistically be in issue, preserve evidence of expenditure, timing and the development that could formerly have relied on Class L

Our HMO Article 4 map and guidance provides the wider national picture. Anyone purchasing an existing property should also read our guide to buying an HMO in an Article 4 area, because licensing history alone does not establish the lawful planning use.

What happens next?

Representations on Bury’s Direction must be submitted by 27 August 2026. The Council will consider the responses and then decide whether to confirm the Direction. A further notice will be published stating whether it has been confirmed.

Unless and until anything changes, however, the immediate Direction remains the operative position: new material changes from C3 to C4 require planning permission throughout Bury.

Primary sources

• Bury Council: Article 4 Directions and HMO consultation
• Bury Council: formal HMO Article 4 Direction dated 10 July 2026
• Bury Council: notice of making the Direction
• GOV.UK Planning Practice Guidance: Article 4 Directions and compensation
• Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 108
• Town and Country Planning (Compensation) (England) Regulations 2015
• Town and Country Planning General Regulations 1992, regulation 12
• GPDO 2015: Schedule 2, Part 3, Class L

Created: 24th August 2026 | Bury HMO Article 4 Direction