Another Smethwick HMO approved next to controversial conversion

Another home in Smethwick will be converted into a HMO next door to a controversial HMO approved by the council at the third attempt.

The three-bed home in Cheshire Road, Smethwick, will be converted into a five-bed house of multiple occupation (HMO) after receiving planning permission from Sandwell Council.

A move to turn the home next door into a seven-bed HMO was approved by Sandwell Council in August after throwing out two previous bids for an eight-bed HMO.

The rejected planning application for a HMO resulted in petitions with nearly 100 signatures opposing the move.

Amalgi Ltd, which lists Jean Pierre Lilley and Max Singh Pannum as directors, submitted the application to convert the three-bed home into a five-bed HMO.

Last month, Reform-led Sandwell Council introduced new rules requiring all new HMOs in Sandwell to go through the council’s planning process.

Until the rule change, homes across Sandwell could have been converted into a ‘small’ house of multiple occupation (HMO) – shared housing between three and six people – under permitted development rights and without first obtaining planning permission.

The article 4 direction means that every application for a house of multiple occupation (HMO) will be forced to go through the local authority’s planning process to acquire approval.

The tighter restrictions have been brought in over concerns about the number and concentration of HMOs in the borough as well as concerns over parking, litter, crime and anti-social behaviour, changes to character of neighbourhoods and the loss of family housing.

The new rules do not ban HMOs in Sandwell and do not apply to existing HMOs.

A report outlining the decision said: “The [article 4] direction was approved in October 2026 but is not yet in force. It is expected to come into force by the end of the year; however, no implementation date has yet been set.”

An application to convert the adjoining home in Cheshire Road, Smethwick, into an eight-bed house of multiple occupation (HMO) was rejected twice by Sandwell Council in March 2025 and January this year.

The council said the “intensification” and increase in noise from the proposed HMO would be to the detriment of neighbours.

The council’s planners added the layout of the building was “poor” and would result in an “unacceptable living environment” for residents – particularly a basement living room that relied solely on artificial lighting.

Having been rejected last year, the application was resubmitted again to Sandwell Council with little to no changes – which led to more objections being raised by neighbours – and was rejected again.

A report outlining the council’s rejection said the plans showed one shared kitchen for the eight residents but did not include seating or a fridge.

The rooms, the majority of which measured between six and nine square metres, contained enough room for a bed and wardrobe but little else.