HMO conversion drawings from £815
A house shared by several tenants has to work as a planning use, a licensable property and a safe building. We draw all three together, from one survey, and submit the application.
£815 £665 drawings + £150 survey (£815 total), no VAT to add
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The short answer
HMO conversion drawings show a house arranged for several unrelated tenants: room sizes, shared kitchen and bathrooms, the stair and the escape route. They support the planning application and the council’s HMO licence. Our fee is £665 drawings + £150 survey (£815 total), no VAT to add, plus the council’s fees.
HMO conversion drawings
from £815
- Drawings
- £665
- Measured survey
- £150
- Total you pay
- £815
- VAT
- None to add
- A measured survey of every room, with window positions, so room sizes and light are shown exactly
- Existing and proposed floor plans for each floor, with each bedroom’s area and the shared spaces labelled
- A planning check: Article 4 direction, HMO policy and parking, with the route chosen
- The planning application or certificate, forms and fee, submitted for you
- A layout that can later support the licence application, with room areas and the escape route marked
- An independent check of every sheet, and free redraws of our drawings until approval
£665 drawings + £150 survey (£815 total). A starting fee: we confirm one fixed figure after checking your address. The council’s own fee, where there is one, is paid to the council.
Get my fixed feeHow an HMO job runs with us
Policy first
Is there an Article 4 direction? What does the council’s HMO policy say about concentration, room sizes and parking?
Survey
Every room measured, every window and door, the stair, the kitchen and the bathrooms.
Layout
Bedrooms sized to the licensing minimums, kitchens and bathrooms sized to the number of tenants, escape route drawn.
Planning route
Permitted development under Class L where it applies, otherwise a planning application with the policy statement.
Licence and fire
The drawings support the licence application, and our fire strategy plan adds the fire detail if the council asks for it.
Planning: is a small HMO a change of use?
A house shared by up to six unrelated people is a house in multiple occupation in Class C4 of the Use Classes Order, and a larger HMO sits outside the class. Moving a house between C3 and C4 is permitted development under Class L, unless an Article 4 direction has removed that right.
Where councils have removed it, a planning application is needed and the council’s HMO policy decides the outcome. We read the policy first, because it can limit the number of HMOs on a street, and tell you before you spend on anything else.
- Up to 6 residents: Class C4, permitted development from C3 unless an Article 4 direction applies
- More than 6 residents: outside Class C4, needs planning permission
- Article 4 directions are made borough by borough, so the address decides it
Licensing: the rules the drawing must meet
A mandatory licence is needed for an HMO occupied by five or more people in two or more households (the 2018 Order). Operating one without a licence is an offence under section 72 of the Housing Act 2004, and a licence runs for up to five years (section 68).
The licence conditions fix the smallest bedrooms: 6.51 square metres for one adult, 10.22 for two, and 4.64 for a child under 10. A room below 4.64 square metres cannot be used for sleeping. Councils may add their own standards, so the drawing marks every room’s area.
Where HMO layouts go wrong
The common failures are a bedroom that is 0.2 square metres short, a kitchen shared by too many tenants for its size, and an escape route that passes through a bedroom or the kitchen. Each is quick to fix on the plan and costly to fix after a refusal.
Because we survey every room ourselves, the areas on our plans are measured, not scaled from an estate agent’s sketch. That is what a licensing officer checks.
HMOs in numbers
6
Most residents a small HMO may have to fall within Class C4; a larger HMO is outside the class.
Source: Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987, Schedule (legislation.gov.uk)
Class L
Permits a change between a house (C3) and a small HMO (C4), unless an Article 4 direction removes it.
5 people
Occupation by five or more people is one condition for a mandatory HMO licence.
Source: Licensing of HMOs (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018, article 4 (legislation.gov.uk)
2 households
The other condition: occupied by persons living in two or more separate households.
Source: Licensing of HMOs (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018, article 4 (legislation.gov.uk)
6.51 m²
Smallest bedroom for one person aged over 10 under the mandatory licence conditions.
Source: Licensing of HMOs (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)
10.22 m²
Smallest bedroom for two people aged over 10.
Source: Licensing of HMOs (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)
4.64 m²
Smallest bedroom for one child under 10; a room smaller than this cannot be used for sleeping.
Source: Licensing of HMOs (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)
5 years
Longest a licence may run from the date it begins.
Source: Housing Act 2004, section 68: licence duration (legislation.gov.uk)
s72
Having control of or managing a licensable HMO without a licence is an offence, punishable by a fine.
Source: Housing Act 2004, section 72: offences in relation to licensing (legislation.gov.uk)
Questions about HMOs
Does a five-person shared house always need a licence?
If five or more people live there as two or more households, yes, under the national rule. Some councils also run additional or selective licensing schemes that cover smaller houses, so check your council as well.
Can I turn a family house into a seven-bed HMO?
That is more than six residents, so it is outside Class C4 and needs planning permission, and the council will weigh the street’s balance of homes and shared houses. We check the policy before you commit.
Do you handle the licence application?
Our HMO licence application pack prepares the plans and forms. The council decides and sets the conditions.
Do I need building regulations approval?
Usually, when you change walls, add bathrooms or alter the stair. A new room for residential purposes is also a material change of use under the regulations.
Check your house before you convert it
Send the address and the number of tenants you plan for. We reply with the route and a fixed fee, from £665 drawings + £150 survey (£815 total).