Coventry's HMO conversion rate is 4x the national average. The city's planning mix sets it apart.
Coventry City Council received 2,201 planning applications in 2025, submitted to the authority by homeowners, developers and businesses across the city. Of the 2,934 applications decided across 2024 and 2025, 85.5% were approved and 14.5% were refused, about 1 in 7, slightly above the national refusal rate of 12.4%. The standout feature is HMO conversions: at 5.2% of the application mix, they run at more than four times the national share of 1.2%.
The year in one line
Coventry submitted 2,201 applications in 2025, refused 1 in 7, slightly above the national 1 in 8, and filed HMO conversions at four times the national rate, making it the city's sharpest planning signal.
What Coventry Is Building
Extensions lead, but HMO conversions set the city apart.
Home extensions were the most common project type submitted to Coventry Council in 2025, at 32.3% of the application mix, above the national share of 29.1%. Demolition was second at 11.5%, above the national 9.1%. The category that marks Coventry out most sharply is HMO conversions: 182 applications, representing 5.2% of the mix against a national share of just 1.2%, a rate more than four times the national average. Loft conversions also ran well above the norm, at 4.3% against 2.6% nationally.
Applications submitted to Coventry Council in 2025 and the 2024-2025 pooled period, by project type.
HMO conversions stand out
At 5.2% of applications, Coventry's HMO conversion rate is 4.3 times the national share of 1.2%. Loft conversions also run above the norm, at 1.7 times the national rate. These are Coventry's two clearest departures from the national mix.
The council verdict
A slightly higher refusal rate than the national norm.
Of the 2,934 applications decided across 2024 and 2025, Coventry approved 85.5% and refused 14.5%, about 1 in 7. The national approval rate is 87.6% and the refusal rate 12.4%, so Coventry refuses at a slightly higher rate than the country as a whole. 145 applications across the period were retrospective, meaning the work was done before permission was sought, at 4.2% of the mix against a national 3.7%.
About 1 in 7 Coventry applications was turned down, above the national 1 in 8.
of decided applications were refused, about 1 in 7. The national refusal rate is 12.4%, or 1 in 8. Coventry refuses slightly more often than the average English council.
Coventry vs The National Norm
HMO conversions at four times the national rate.
Set Coventry's application mix against the national average and one category stands out sharply. HMO conversions accounted for 5.2% of applications submitted to Coventry Council, against a national share of just 1.2%, a rate 4.3 times the norm. Loft conversions ran at 1.7 times the national rate. Home extensions were also above the national share. The clearest Coventry signal is in the project mix, not just the decision rates.
Coventry files HMO conversion applications at 4.3 times the national rate: 5.2% of the mix against 1.2% nationally, across 182 applications. Loft conversions also run above the norm at 1.7 times the national share.
Each bar is Coventry's share of applications; the marker is the national share. HMO conversions are Coventry's sharpest divergence from the norm.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices climbed alongside the building work.
Permission may run slightly below the national average here, but prices have not stood still in the city.
Coventry's planning data has a clear signal. The city files HMO conversion applications at more than four times the national rate, making it the sharpest departure from the national mix we see in this data. Loft conversions also run well above the norm. On decisions, the council refused about 1 in 7 applications, slightly above the national 1 in 8, with 2,201 applications submitted to the authority in 2025.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Coventry Council in 2025, with rates and shares computed over the pooled 2024-2025 window for stability. Categories are classified from each application's published description.
Decision Rates
Approval rate is approvals as a share of approvals plus refusals, across applications decided in 2024-2025. The national benchmarks are computed the same way across all decided applications in England and Wales.
Sales Data
HM Land Registry Price Paid Data for the Coventry post town, the latest full year's completions, with growth measured against the previous year.
The Real Applications
Open the planning applications behind the numbers.
These are real applications decided in Coventry in the latest full year, from the HMO conversions that run at four times the national rate to extensions and change-of-use cases. Open any one to see its full record.
4 Drybrooks Close, Balsall Common CV7 7PY
A front extension paired with a part two-storey, part single-storey rear extension was approved, the home-extension work Coventry files most.
See this property's full recordBeechwood House Kelsey Lane, Balsall Common CV7 7GL
A two-storey side extension with internal reconfiguration was granted, a typical example of the extensions that top the city's casework.
See this property's full record6 Asbury Road, Balsall Common CV7 7QN
Permission was granted to convert a double garage into ancillary living accommodation, part of the change-of-use activity that runs above the national norm here.
See this property's full record2 Ferndale Road, Binley Woods CV3 2BG
A loft conversion with a hip-to-gable extension and a rear dormer was approved, in the category that runs at 1.7 times the national rate in Coventry.
See this property's full record140 Rugby Road, Binley Woods CV3 2AZ
A retrospective application to keep a boundary wall and gates already built was turned down, one of the roughly 1 in 7 applications the council refused.
See this property's full record12 Kittermaster Road, Meriden CV7 7NA
A bid to certify a proposed ground-floor rear extension as lawful development was refused, a reminder that even extensions face scrutiny in Coventry.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Coventry?
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