KerbioOpen data
Kerbio's datasets on HMO Article 4 and council schemes for landlords in England, free to reuse with credit. Every row links to the council page it's based on.
HMO Article 4 in England, by council
Every council in England (296), with its HMO Article 4 position (whole, part, in progress, none), the date it took effect where known, whether it was missing from the national dataset, and links to the council's own page. The data behind the map.
Data dictionary
| gss_code | ONS code of the council |
| council | Council name |
| hmo_article4 | whole, part, progress or none, as of the date in as_of |
| detail | One-line description in plain English |
| in_force_from | Date the direction took effect, where known (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| missing_from_national_dataset_2026_09 | yes if the council's HMO direction was missing from the national Article 4 dataset when checked |
| kerbio_page | Kerbio page for the council, with a postcode check |
| council_page | The council's own page |
| as_of | Date the row reflects |
How it's compiled: Hand-checked against each council's own page for most councils; councils without a hand-checked record are classified from the areas they publish to the national dataset (94% or more of the council area counts as the whole council).
How to cite: Kerbio (2026). HMO Article 4 in England, by council. https://kerbio.co.uk/data/ (updated 2026-10-11). Licensed CC BY 4.0.
HMO Article 4 directions missing from the national planning data
The 79 English councils with an HMO Article 4 direction on their own website that had not published an HMO area to the national Article 4 dataset on planning.data.gov.uk, with each council's source page.
Data dictionary
| council | Council name |
| gss_code | ONS code |
| hmo_article4_coverage | whole or partial |
| scope_per_council | Areas covered as stated by the council (short, our wording) |
| in_force_from | Date the direction took effect as stated by the council |
| council_source_url | The council page that records the direction |
| council_source_checked | Date the council page was read |
| rows_in_national_area_dataset | Rows for this council in article-4-direction-area (0 = nothing published) |
| hmo_area_in_national_area_dataset | Always no (the inclusion rule) |
| hmo_record_in_national_direction_dataset | yes if the sibling article-4-direction dataset has an HMO record without a boundary |
| national_dataset_checked | Date the planning.data.gov.uk files were downloaded |
How it's compiled: Included where the council's own site shows an HMO direction in force and the national area dataset has no live area matching the HMO test (Class L / C3 to C4 right removed, or HMO, multiple occupation or C4 in the name, description or notes).
How to cite: Kerbio (2026). HMO Article 4 directions missing from the national planning data. https://kerbio.co.uk/data/ (updated 2026-10-11). Licensed CC BY 4.0.
Council schemes for private landlords in England
All 296 councils in England: whether each runs a scheme for private landlords (leasing, guaranteed rent, incentive payments, council letting agency), its name and type, and the council page it is based on.
Data dictionary
| council | Council name |
| gss_code | ONS code |
| nation | England |
| scheme_for_private_landlords | yes, no or unverified |
| scheme_name | Scheme name as the council calls it |
| scheme_type | leasing, guaranteed_rent, incentive_only, management or mixed (Kerbio classification) |
| council_source_url | Page the record is based on |
| checked | Date the page was read |
| page_readable | false = page could not be read; row unverified |
How it's compiled: Read from each council's own website. Amounts, terms and contacts are not included in this version: see the council pages, or Kerbio's guide.
How to cite: Kerbio (2026). Council schemes for private landlords in England. https://kerbio.co.uk/data/ (updated 2026-09-29). Licensed CC BY 4.0.
Licence and sources
The Kerbio compilation (selection, structure, wording and verification) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Credit "Kerbio (kerbio.co.uk)" and link to this page.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: planning.data.gov.uk (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government), article-4-direction-area and article-4-direction datasets, © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
- Facts about each council were taken from the council web pages linked in each row. Copyright in those pages belongs to the councils; no text, logos or images are reproduced.
- Council codes: ONS and the planning.data.gov.uk organisation register (Open Government Licence).
Not endorsed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, planning.data.gov.uk or any council. General information, not legal or planning advice. The data may contain errors: always confirm with the council. Not included: boundary shapes, council contact details and the checker's logic.
Spotted an error, or using the data? enquiries@swiftresolve.co.uk. See also the map, the monthly Article 4 changes and the press page.