Block Management in Yeovil
Somerset's only HMO Article 4 direction, in a town built from scarce Yeovil Stone.
Yeovil RMCs, RTM companies and freeholders can appoint us for block and estate management, from service charge budgets to lease consents. The town holds the only HMO Article 4 direction in the Somerset Council area, so HMO use by more than three unrelated people needs planning permission. In The Park conservation area another direction covers windows, roofs, rainwater goods and boundary walls fronting a highway.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Yeovil
Check HMO Status on Subletting Requests
Using a dwelling as an HMO for more than three unrelated people needs planning permission in Yeovil, normally at a change of use fee of around 462 pounds. We would check that position when handling subletting and change of use requests under the lease.
ConsentsSpecify Repairs Around Stone Supply
The Hendford Hill appraisal lists the lack of availability of Yeovil Stone for repairs among the area's problems. For a stone-built block we would establish material sources and consents before specifying works under Section 20.
Major works and Section 20Programme Works Under the Park Direction
In The Park conservation area an Article 4 direction covers windows, doors, roof coverings, chimneys, rainwater goods, hard surfacing and boundary walls fronting a highway or open space. We would obtain permissions before setting the cyclical works programme.
Maintenance and repairsMeasure Radon in Central and East
Fourteen of 52 sampled squares sit in the band where measurement is advised, in parts of Yeovil Central and Yeovil East. For a block in those squares we would arrange radon measurement in the communal areas and record the results.
ComplianceAllow for Hard Water in Plant Budgets
Yeovil's mains water is moderately hard at 172.4 milligrams per litre, more than three times Taunton's figure, which is a real difference for communal plant. We would factor that into planned maintenance and the reserve fund.
Service chargesManaging a Block in Yeovil at a Glance
- Local authority
- Somerset Council
- Authority type
- Unitary
- Building control
- Somerset Building Control, the council's own service covering the four former district areas
- County
- Somerset
- Fire and rescue service
- Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- Wessex Water
- From our Plymouth office
- Approx. 91 miles by road, an hour and a half or so
- Setting
- Inland
What It Costs to Move a Block in Yeovil to Us
Management is a fixed annual fee, quoted for the building and agreed before we start. We take no commission and no third-party incentives, so the fee is the whole of what we earn from the building. Taking a block on carries a one-off start-up fee, set by size:
| Block size | Fee |
|---|---|
| Start-up fee, up to 10 units | £420.00 |
| Start-up fee, up to 25 units | £540.00 |
| Start-up fee, 50 units and above | £660.00 |
Taken from our published Additional Services price list, PBM Form #01-27 rev.6, effective 23 June 2025. All fees quoted are inclusive of VAT. See the full price list and how a handover works.
Somerset's Only HMO Article 4 Direction Is Here
Yeovil holds the only HMO Article 4 direction in the entire Somerset Council area. It was made in May 2016, came into force that November and was extended into central Yeovil in January 2018. It requires a planning application to use a dwelling as an HMO for more than three unrelated people, normally at a change of use fee of around 462 pounds. Five further directions cover the town, including both conservation areas. For a block, the HMO direction matters whenever a leaseholder asks to let a flat to more than three unrelated sharers.
Flat Shares Range from 8.4 to 27.1 Per Cent
Across the four wards named for the town, 2,618 of 18,020 households were in a purpose-built block at the 2021 Census, 14.5 per cent, with all flat categories reaching 18.4 per cent. That is well above the 12.7 per cent for Somerset and below the 22.2 for England. The spread within the town is wide: Yeovil South runs at 27.1 per cent and Yeovil West at 8.4. Most of the town's flats are in purpose-built blocks, where roofs, structure and communal areas are shared through the service charge.
Flood Zones Cluster in the Yeo Corridor Near Pen Mill
The adopted local plan notes that some areas in and around Yeovil are in Flood Zone 3 and that surface water flooding is an issue, particularly here. Of 52 sampled points inside the parish, 48 are outside any flood zone. The four in Zones 2 and 3 cluster in the River Yeo corridor near Pen Mill. The town's two flood warning areas cover the river upstream and downstream rather than the urban core. For most blocks, surface water and drainage matter more than the river, so gutters and gullies belong on every routine inspection.
Yeovil Stone and Ham Hill Stone, Used Together
Three conservation areas lie in the town: the town centre, designated in 1983 and extended in 2013, The Park in 2008 and Hendford Hill in 2012. Alvington, on the western edge, is a fourth. Both The Park and Hendford Hill carry their own Article 4 directions on top of conservation area control. For a block in either, windows, roofs and other external works need permission checks before they are programmed.
The town centre appraisal records over sixty list entries in that area alone, including a Grade I parish church and two Grade II* former gentry houses. Across the wider built-up area there are 131 entries, 3 of them Grade I. The appraisal describes a character built on Yeovil Stone and Ham Hill stone used together, with a rich orange-red local brick from the mid eighteenth century onward. Repairs to a stone or brick block should match those materials, and the works specification should say so.
Measurement Advised in Parts of Central and East
Radon is mixed within the town. Of 52 sampled kilometre squares inside the parish, 38 fall in the lowest class and 14 in the next band up, at a maximum potential of one to three per cent, where measurement is advised. Those squares fall in parts of Yeovil Central and Yeovil East. No point inside the parish exceeded three per cent, but squares immediately south and south east reach five to ten. A block in one of those squares should have radon measured in its communal areas.
A Flight Safety Zone Rules Out Building West of Town
Yeovil is decided on the South Somerset Local Plan for 2006 to 2028, with a town centre masterplan adopted in February 2026 that must now be taken into account on every application in the centre. Two constraints are specific to the town. A flight safety zone west and south west of Yeovil precludes built development outright, because development on the main flight paths would risk the aerodrome licences. Aircraft noise exposure contours are published separately and guide where development needs more robust sound insulation.
The County's Last Air Quality Area, Now Proposed for Revocation
Somerset Council sets its premiums county-wide. What is specific to Yeovil is the air quality management area, the only one still in force anywhere in the county, declared in 2002 for nitrogen dioxide and covering the whole built-up area including the airfield and the main road network. It is now proposed for revocation pending 2025 monitoring data.
What Else Changes About Managing a Block in Yeovil
- Repair materials are a documented constraint rather than a preference. The Hendford Hill appraisal lists the lack of availability of Yeovil Stone for repairs among the area's problems, in a town whose character rests on two local stones used together.
- In The Park conservation area an Article 4 direction removes permitted development for work fronting a highway or open space, including windows, doors, roof coverings, chimneys, rainwater goods, hard surfacing and boundary walls. That covers most of a cyclical works programme.
- Yeovil's mains water is moderately hard at 172.4 milligrams per litre, more than three times Taunton's figure, which is a real difference for communal plant.
Service charge or accounts query? Email accounts@
Yeovil Questions
Does the Airfield Affect Development Near Our Block?
It can. The planning record notes a flight safety zone west and south west of Yeovil that precludes built development outright, because development on the main flight paths would risk the aerodrome licences. Aircraft noise exposure contours are published separately and guide where development needs more robust sound insulation.
Is the Yeovil Air Quality Management Area Still in Force?
Yes, for now. Declared in 2002 for nitrogen dioxide, it covers the whole built-up area including the airfield and the main road network, and it is the only one still in force anywhere in the county. It is proposed for revocation pending 2025 monitoring data, so that status has not yet changed.
What Plan Governs Applications in the Town Centre?
The South Somerset Local Plan for 2006 to 2028, together with a town centre masterplan adopted in February 2026 that must now be taken into account on every application in the centre. Somerset Council decides applications through a strategic committee and four area committees covering the former district areas.
Nearby Areas
Talk to Us About Your Building in Yeovil.
A free, no-obligation proposal, written so it can be circulated to a board.