Nottingham files HMO conversions at six times the national rate.
Nottingham City Council received 1,849 planning applications in 2025 and approved 92.8% of those decided, well above the national rate of 87.6%. The figure that sets the city apart is HMO conversions: at 7.8% of all applications submitted, they run at 6.3 times the national share of 1.2%. Home extensions were the largest single category at 21.2%. This is the planning signature of a large student and rental city.
The year in one line
Nottingham approves planning applications at well above the national rate and files applications to convert houses into shared homes at more than six times the national share, the clearest signal of a large student and rental city.
What Nottingham Is Building
Extensions lead, shared-home conversions set the city apart.
Home extensions were the most common project type submitted to Nottingham City Council in 2025, at 21.2% of all applications, though below the national share of 29.1%. The figure that distinguishes Nottingham is HMO conversions: 7.8% of applications, against a national share of just 1.2%. Dormers, demolition and loft conversions made up the next tier. This is the application mix of a large university city with a sizeable private rental market.
Applications submitted to Nottingham City Council in 2025, by project type.
The rental effect
Nottingham filed HMO conversion applications at 6.3 times the national share, 272 across 2024-2025. Splitting a house into a licensed shared home needs planning consent, so this work shows up clearly in the record.
The council verdict
An easy yes.
Nottingham City Council approved 92.8% of the applications it decided across 2024-2025 and refused just 7.2%, well below the national refusal rate of 12.4%. About 1 in 14 applications was turned down, compared to the national 1 in 8. For those seeking permission here, the odds are clearly in their favour.
About 1 in 14 Nottingham applications was turned down.
approval rate for decided applications, against a national rate of 87.6%. Nottingham refuses at about half the national rate.
Nottingham vs The National Norm
A rental city, by the numbers.
Set Nottingham's application mix against the national average and the rental effect is unmistakable. HMO conversions feature at 6.3 times the national share. The categories Nottingham does less of are equally telling: demolition applications run at less than a third of the national share, home extensions are below the national norm, and outbuildings and listed-building works are both rare relative to the rest of England.
Nottingham files HMO conversion applications at more than six times the national share. Splitting a house into a licensed shared home needs planning consent, so the city's large rental market is visible in the record.
Each bar is Nottingham's share of applications; the marker is the national share. HMO conversion is the city's defining outlier.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices rose alongside the building work.
Permission takes time to win here, but values kept climbing: the average Nottingham home sold for more in the latest full year than the year before.
Nottingham's planning data tells a clear story. This is a city shaped by its rental market: applications to convert houses into shared homes run at more than six times the national share, while the council approves over nine in ten of the applications it decides. Homeowners and developers here face a far easier approval environment than elsewhere in England. The shape of the local housing market is written into the planning record.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Nottingham City Council in 2025 (volume) and across 2024-2025 (rates and shares), classified from each application's published description. Shares are each category as a percentage of all applications in scope.
Decision Rates
Approval rate is approvals as a share of approvals plus refusals, computed over the 2024-2025 pooled window for stability. 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 Nottingham 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 submitted in the Nottingham City Council area, from HMO conversions and home extensions to a cluster of refusals. Open any one to see its full record.
42 Cranmer Street, Long Eaton NG10 1NL
A bid to convert a dwelling to an HMO for up to six occupants was refused, the type of shared-home work Nottingham files most often.
See this property's full record25 Melbury Road, Woodthorpe NG5 4PG
A single-storey rear extension with a loft conversion, front and rear dormers and a hipped-to-gabled roof change was granted with conditions.
See this property's full record106 Birchfield Road, Arnold NG5 8BS
A two-storey side and rear extension, the most common project type in the Nottingham area, was approved with conditions.
See this property's full record12 Galway Road, Arnold NG5 7AY
Prior approval for a single-storey rear extension was refused, one of the roughly 1 in 14 applications the council turned down.
See this property's full record37 Giltbrook Crescent, Giltbrook NG16 2GH
A front and side extension paired with a loft conversion and mansard roof addition was granted with conditions.
See this property's full record1 Carisbrooke Avenue NG3 5DT
A loft conversion extending the roof to the rear to form a gable, with new rooflights, was approved with conditions.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Nottingham?
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