Bassetlaw District Councillors have agreed to strengthen the Council’s approach to how it manages Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) in the district.
At a meeting of Extraordinary Council on Thursday 31st July, councillors voted unanimously in favour of instructing council officers to begin the process of introducing Article 4 Directions.
These powers will remove permitted development rights for changes of use for HMOs that house between 4 and 6 people in areas of Bassetlaw where evidence shows a significant growth or a concentration of HMOs.
This means that before an HMO can be created, where an Article 4 Direction is in place, a planning application will need to be submitted to the council for a decision to be made.
This additional process allows for greater consultation of residents where HMOs are proposed to be located and provides greater transparency of the planning process.
Cllr Julie Leigh, Leader of Bassetlaw District Council said: “We have seen the strength of feeling from residents in the district who would like to know where HMOs are proposed and for councils to have greater control of where HMOs are located.
“The introduction of more Article 4 Directions can help to manage HMOs in the most appropriate way in Bassetlaw.”
The Council already has processes in place to manage the development of HMOs including an Article 4 Direction that has been in place in Worksop since June 2020. In addition to powers contained within the council’s Local Plan, and other planning related policies.
In Bassetlaw, there are a total of 57,690 homes, which data the council holds suggests that there are 169 HMOs of all sizes. This means that HMOs make up less than 0.3% of all dwellings throughout the entirety of Bassetlaw.
While councillors agreed that there should be greater powers on how HMOs should be managed, it was recognised that HMOs are essential in terms of providing a specific type of housing accommodation.
Cllr Leigh added: “Not everyone can afford to rent a whole property or buy their own home. Without HMOs many of our residents would not have a home at all.
“These can include young people who have recently left care, people who have moved here to work, students, couples who have split up and people whose financial resources mean that they cannot afford to rent or buy a whole property.”
“We believe that an Article 4 Direction is an essential part of managing the whole of Bassetlaw and recognise that HMOs should be managed in the same way as other applications that sit outside the realms of permitted development and have now taken further steps to do this.”
The Extraordinary Council Meeting was called by a group of opposition councillors where a motion was put forward to Council to consider.
A number of amendments were proposed to the original motion and after these were accepted, councillors voted unanimously to carry the motion forward.
You can read the original motion in full here. The amended and agreed motion will be published with the approved minutes for this meeting.
Last Updated on Friday, August 1, 2025