What the card shows
- Article 4 for small HMOs: whether the national planning data records an Article 4 direction about small HMOs at the postcode point. Only some councils publish their directions there, so when none is found the card says to check with the council
- Conservation area: the conservation area recorded at the postcode point, with its council
- Listed building: the listed buildings recorded within 75 metres of the postcode point, each with its grade and its list entry. Mark the one that is the home, or that none of them is, and the answer is kept
- Tree preservation orders: an order area covering the postcode point, and the protected trees recorded within 60 metres
How it is read
The records are read again overnight, the National Heritage List at most once a week, and anyone who can change the property can press Check now. The match is on the postcode’s point from the ONS postcode directory, not the building. The records are shown for information: they are not a planning decision and do not confirm any planning status. A property locked on the free plan is not checked.
A new Article 4 direction
When a check finds an Article 4 direction for small HMOs at a property’s postcode point that the check before did not, an item appears in the bell, Article 4 direction recorded for small HMOs, and Got it on the card clears it.
A heads-up before works
When a repair you log, a planned task, or a repair sent to a contractor from the tenant inbox describes work to windows, the roof, outside walls or trees, and the records bear on that work, the form shows a heads-up that consent or notice to the council may be needed, with its source. It never stops the job being saved or sent.
Where it applies
The national planning data, which is in beta, covers England only, so nothing is checked for an address elsewhere. It is on every plan, in your own account and in an agency workspace, where a viewer sees the card but cannot check it or answer the listed building question.
