Where councils are granting HMO use — and where they’ve stopped. Panel decisions, refusal patterns and approval-rate shifts, tracked from the council registers themselves.
PlanningLens runs an independent index of 3.7M+ planning decisions across 304 UK councils, collected directly from council portals. Our June 2026 briefing, The HMO Squeeze, used it to document an 87% surge in decided HMO applications and a doubling of refusals. We’re now turning that analysis into a recurring HMO intelligence product — and the early-access cohort decides what it tracks first.
Free to join — no payment, no commitment•Bespoke HMO extracts available today, from £195•Every record links to the council’s own register
87%
Surge in decided HMO apps
2×
HMO refusals doubled
304
Councils indexed
£0
To join early access
The findings above are published, not promised.The HMO Squeeze (June 2026) documented the tightening of HMO planning across a multi-year council panel, methodology disclosed, every figure traceable to council records. Read the full briefing free — it’s the proof of what this index can see.
What the index sees
HMO planning decisions — the applications councils receive for HMO use, and what they decide — straight from the planning registers:
HMO change-of-use applications and outcomes — approvals, refusals and withdrawals, with decision dates, by council and over time.
Panel-decided cases — the applications contentious enough to go to committee rather than being decided by officers. A rising panel share is an early signal of local resistance.
Refusal patterns — where refusals are climbing, and how a council’s HMO approval rate compares to its neighbours and to its own past.
Source links on every record — each decision links to the council’s own portal entry, so anything can be verified before money moves on it.
Available today vs. early access
The index is live now — the recurring product is what the first cohort shapes.
£195
Available today: bespoke HMO extracts
A custom cut of the decision index, delivered as a one-off job: HMO decisions across a region, refusal patterns for a council cluster, approval-rate trends for your target areas. Scoped and quoted per job, from £195.
Early access
The recurring product
Regular HMO intelligence — the format, cadence, and areas tracked are being scoped with the first cohort. Early members get the first releases and preferential terms, and their questions decide what gets built first.
Joining the list costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Product pricing will be set with the cohort, not before.
Join the early-access list
One email. Tell us which areas you operate in and what you’d want tracked — or just say hello and we’ll ask. First releases and preferential terms go to the cohort.
Early access is free for the first cohort. Need data today? Evidence packs (£195) and the Planning Data API (30p per lookup) are live now.
What this is — and what it is not
This is HMO planning data: applications for HMO use and the decisions councils made on them, from the councils’ own planning registers. It is not the HMO licensing register — licensing is a separate council system that PlanningLens does not index, and the two answer different questions. Planning data shows where councils are granting or refusing new HMO use; a licence count shows stock that already exists. It is also not investment advice: the index shows what councils actually decided, with every record verifiable at source. What you do with that picture — and whether any individual property or area is a sound investment — is a judgement the data informs but cannot make.
Who it’s for
Anyone whose next move depends on how councils are treating HMO applications:
HMO investors and portfolio landlords — area targeting informed by what councils are actually granting, not by last year’s reputation. A council whose refusals doubled is a different proposition to one waving applications through.
Sourcing and deal-packaging firms — planning-risk context on the areas you package, with council-record links your clients can verify themselves.
Letting agents and HMO consultants — the local approval picture, by application type and over time, for advising clients on conversion prospects.
Researchers and journalists — the same panel methodology behind The HMO Squeeze, applied to your question. See also commissioned research.
How early access works
1
Join the list
One email — free, no commitment. Tell us the areas you operate in and the questions you’d pay to have answered, or just register interest.
2
Shape the product
The cohort’s questions decide what the recurring product tracks first: which areas, what cadence, what format. We build against real demand, not guesses.
3
First releases, first terms
Early members get the first data releases and preferential pricing when the product ships. Need something sooner? Bespoke extracts are available today.
Coverage, honestly stated
PlanningLens currently indexes 304 councils and 3,700,000+ planning decisions across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, collected from public council portals. The HMO Squeeze deliberately used a multi-year panel of councils — a methodological choice that measures change over time on a consistent base, rather than inflating the headline with councils that lack history. Coverage grows continuously, and depth varies by council. If your target area isn’t well covered yet, we’ll say so — that honesty is the product. The per-council picture is on the All Councils index.
Questions people ask
Can I get data on HMO planning applications and refusals?
Yes — PlanningLens indexes HMO planning decisions from UK council portals: change-of-use applications, decided cases, refusals and approvals, with dates and a link to each council’s own record. Bespoke extracts are available today from £195; the recurring product is in early access.
Is this the same as HMO licensing data?
No. HMO licensing is a separate council register that PlanningLens does not index. This is HMO planning data — where councils are granting or refusing new HMO use. A licence count shows existing stock; planning decisions show the direction of travel.
What did The HMO Squeeze find?
An 87% surge in decided HMO applications, refusals doubling, and a declining approval rate, measured on a multi-year council panel with full methodology disclosed. The briefing is free to read.
What does it cost?
Joining early access is free and commits you to nothing. Bespoke HMO extracts are available today from £195 per job. Pricing for the recurring product will be set with the early-access cohort.
Is this investment advice?
No. PlanningLens provides planning decisions data, verifiable at source. It does not recommend investments, predict the outcome of any individual application, or constitute financial or planning advice.