We spoke to the council informally and we were confident that we could get the certificate of lawful use as C4 usage (HMO) upon submitting the relevant paperwork as the city was covered by an article 4 directive which restricted the permitted development rights. We purchased the property at £92,500, fixed the damp and did some minor work to the property that cost us £3,250 and applied for the certificate of lawful use. We were granted the certificate and have it rented out at an annual gross amount of £16,640. Lincoln has seen some great capital appreciation and due to article 4 and the university expansion, prices have risen considerably. Less than 2 years of owning this property and we agreed on a sale for £130,000 where an investor got a great 13.8% yield compared to the average 9% gross yield some of the HMO's on the market are offering.