As you may be aware, Article 4 Direction will come into force in Salford on 25 Nov 2018 subject to this being confirmed by the City Mayor and his Cabinet.
We have contacted the Council to confirm the action our existing small HMO landlords need to take in preparation to this. Please see the below response and take action accordingly to ensure you are covered.
“Any property that is in use as a Class C4 small HMO when the article 4 direction comes in will be established as a small HMO and so landlords will not need to do anything. It will be up to individual landlords whether they apply for a Certificate of Lawful Development for this existing use. The fee for such applications is £462.00 per dwelling, and as part of this the landlord would have to provide proof to the council that their dwelling is a Use Class C4 small HMO dwelling. My colleagues in development management can assist further in relation to such applications. In the first instance they can be contacted on 0161 779 6195. Applications should be made via the planning portal – see:
https://1app.planningportal.co.uk/Form/StartPlanningApplication
Should a landlord not want to go down the above route then I would advise that landlords ensure that they have records of their property being in use as a small HMO prior to the direction coming into force. This information could include for example tenancy agreements, whether the property is registered with our landlord licensing team and identified as a small HMO, insurance policy identifying the property as a small HMO, letter from their mortgage company stating property can be used as a small HMO etc. Ultimately it will be up to landlords to determine what information they have that would demonstrate their property is in use as a small HMO should the council subsequently need proof of this (for example if a member of the public says that the property become a small HMO after the direction came into place and we investigated this). The evidence I have referred to above would also be the kind of evidence that would have to accompany an application for a Certificate of Lawful Development.”
For further information regarding the Article 4 Direction and the Application for the Certificate of Lawful Development please contact the Salford Council Planning Department.