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Manchester

Manchester has active HMO controls in parts of the borough.

Conditional
Structured ruleset

What applies in Manchester

Mandatory licensing
Yes — 5+ tenants
Additional licensing
Yes
Additional licensing applies in designated wards including Fallowfield, Withington and Rusholme (student belt).
Selective licensing
Yes
Selective licensing in select wards — applies to all PRS properties, not only HMOs. Verify at postcode level.
Article 4 direction
Designated areas
Article 4 covers inner-city wards; check before relying on C3 → C4 permitted development.
Min single bedroom
6.51 m²
Min double bedroom
10.22 m²
Amenity ratio
1 WC / 5 · 1 kitchen / 5

Indicative 5-person HMO licence fee: £1,150 · subject to change — verify against the council page.

Two-tier licensing (Additional in student belt + Selective in named wards). Article 4 in inner-city wards. Manchester allows bedrooms with combined kitchen-living if the room is ≥10 m². WC must be separate from bathroom every 5th person. See docs/councils/manchester.md.

Open council HMO page ↗Last reviewed 2026-05-14LAD E08000003Data quality: verified
Default risk signals

What you should plan for in Manchester

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Article 4 direction applies in designated areas

planning

Permitted development rights from C3 to C4 may be removed in specific areas of Manchester. Check the council's Article 4 map against your target address.

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Additional licensing scheme in force

licensing

Additional licensing applies in designated parts of the council area. Check whether the target address falls within scope.

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Selective licensing scheme in force

licensing

Selective licensing requires all rented properties (including non-HMO) in designated areas to hold a licence. Verify the address sits inside or outside the designation.

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Mandatory HMO licensing applies nationally

licensing

Any HMO occupied by 5 or more people forming 2 or more households requires a mandatory HMO licence from the council. Fines for unlicensed operation can exceed £30,000.

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Minimum bedroom: 6.51 m² single / 10.22 m² double

space

Standard national minimum bedroom sizes from the HMO Management Regulations 2018 apply.

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Amenity ratio: 1 WC per 5 · 1 kitchen per 5

amenity

These ratios are the council's expected baseline. Larger HMOs may need additional bathrooms and kitchen facilities — plan for at least one bathroom per 4–5 tenants in 6-bed schemes.

Check your specific address

See exactly which rules apply.

Enter your candidate postcode in Manchester (or anywhere else in the UK) and we’ll surface the precise licensing and Article 4 status that applies to that address.