HMO Conversions Chiswick

An HMO conversion in Chiswick starts with planning, not with the building. Hounslow's borough-wide Article 4 Direction, in force since 4 September 2023, removed the permitted development right to turn a family house into a small HMO, so a W4 house needs planning permission before it is let to three or more unrelated sharers. Licensing follows: Hounslow's additional scheme has applied borough-wide since 11 December 2025. We build to the approved plans and the licence standards: bedroom sizes and heights, kitchens and bathrooms for the number of occupants, and fire safety.

In Chiswick, a light HMO conversion for four to six tenants typically costs £40,000 to £75,000 in construction, or £90,000 to £150,000 with an en-suite to every bedroom (indicative London ranges, Mayfair Studio and LetCompliance, 2026). GS Renovation Ltd, a building contractor based in Potters Bar, does the work in Chiswick: we build the fire doors, detection, bathrooms and kitchens to the council's HMO standards, the landlord applies for the licence, and a registered electrician certifies the electrics.

Planning permission for a Chiswick HMO under Article 4

In Chiswick a change from a family house to a shared house needs a planning application. Class L of the General Permitted Development Order 2015 would normally allow a change from C3 to C4, but Hounslow's borough-wide Article 4 Direction removing that right was confirmed on 8 August 2023 and came into force on 4 September 2023. Its only exclusions are open land, industrial areas, Chiswick Business Park, Bedfont Lakes Business Park and the Mogden Sewage Works, so a family house in Chiswick falls inside it; the owner confirms on the council's map.

Size changes the category too. The London Plan glossary defines HMOs for three to six people as Use Class C4 and HMOs for more than six people as sui generis, which needs planning permission anywhere. Hounslow's HMO SPD says HMOs that need permission should have at least PTAL 4 public transport accessibility and be within a 400m walk of town centre facilities. For a Chiswick house, the owner's planning adviser tests those points before any layout is drawn.

Housing in Chiswick

About 16,410 homes are listed for Chiswick, and the mix is 41% houses to 59% flats, with 34% built after 1945, 15% in 1919 to 1939 and 51% earlier.

Mandatory and additional HMO licensing in Chiswick

Every shared house in Chiswick let to three or more people in two or more households now falls inside a licensing scheme. Hounslow's mandatory licensing covers HMOs with five or more people forming two or more households and sharing a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. Its additional licensing scheme was designated on 11 September 2025 and has applied borough-wide from 11 December 2025 to HMOs of three or more persons in two or more households. That designation ends on 10 December 2030 unless it is revoked or extended first.

The mandatory scheme stops short of flats in purpose-built blocks of three or more self-contained flats, which only an additional licensing scheme can catch.

The landlord applies for the licence, and the building work is what makes it grantable. A Hounslow HMO licence normally lasts five years, but Hounslow says it will normally issue a one-year licence where there are concerns about management or condition. GOV.UK says renting out an unlicensed HMO can lead to an unlimited fine. We agree the licence standards with you before we price, so the bedrooms, kitchens and fire precautions are built to them rather than altered after an inspection.

Room sizes, ceiling heights and bathrooms in a Chiswick HMO

Bedrooms in a licensed HMO must meet the national minimum room sizes that are mandatory licence conditions in England: 6.51 square metres for one adult, 10.22 for two, and no sleeping room under 4.64. Hounslow adds its own standards. Its HMO standards require a floor to ceiling height of at least 2.14m over 75% of a room's floor area, and allow a maximum of two people to share a room for sleeping, irrespective of age. In a Victorian Chiswick terrace, a second floor room under a sloping ceiling can pass on area and still fail on height.

Kitchens and bathrooms are sized to the number of occupants the licence names. Hounslow's HMO standards require a mechanical extractor in newly provided bathrooms in addition to any openable window, and say the council cannot apply discretion in licensed HMOs, where national minimum standards must be met. So we measure every room at survey, plan en suites and a shared kitchen around the occupancy, and duct extractors to an outside wall during first fix in each new bathroom.

Fire doors, alarms and energy rating in a Chiswick shared house

Fire safety is the heaviest part of an HMO build in a Chiswick house. The escape route, usually the original stair, is protected with fire-resisting walls and ceilings, and each bedroom gets a fire door with a self-closer onto it. Detection and alarms are interlinked through the house. Building regulations Part B, the council's HMO fire standards and the LACORS housing fire safety guidance together set the level, and the licensing officer checks it at inspection.

Sound and energy come next. Bedrooms side by side need sound-resisting partitions, and a floor between lettings needs insulation so footsteps do not carry. GOV.UK says that since 1 April 2020 landlords cannot let or continue to let MEES-covered properties below an EPC rating of E without a valid exemption, and local authorities enforce this. For a Chiswick HMO we fit loft and floor insulation, heating controls and draught proofing where your assessor advises, while rooms are open.

• Separate WCs and wash basins to the amenity standard
• Hot water sized for several sharers showering at once, with any gas work by a Gas Safe registered engineer
• Large HMO conversions for seven or more, once planning is granted

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for Chiswick North East, Chiswick South East, Chiswick South West and Chiswick Park. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Next steps that tend to follow hmo conversions in Chiswick: bathroom renovation in Chiswick, hmo conversions across Hounslow, bathroom fitting in London, how snagging works at handover, how we handle hmo conversions across London and How to Choose a Builder.

Working With GS Renovation in Chiswick

An HMO conversion has to satisfy a planning officer and a licensing officer, and you need a builder who works to both sets of drawings. The landlord or their agent applies for planning and the licence. We price from the approved layout after a survey, then build the bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms and fire precautions to the licence standards, with inspections called before walls are closed. A registered electrician certifies the alarms and wiring. The founder, Abdelaaziz Saaid, checks room heights and fire routes himself.

• EPC upgrades done while the walls and floors are still open
• En-suites placed only where a soil stack can serve them
• Rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder

Checked by Abdelaaziz Saaid, founder and director of GS Renovation Ltd (Companies House no. 14611254).