HMO Conversions East Ham

HMO conversion in East Ham is tightly controlled. Newham's Article 4 Direction removing the right to turn a house (C3) into a small HMO (C4) came into force on 31st July 2013, and the Local Plan names East Ham as one of the borough's HMO hot spots. A new HMO here therefore needs planning permission, and a house shared by three or more people in two or more households needs a licence. We build to the consent and to the licence standards.

In East Ham, 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 East Ham: 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 new HMO in East Ham

In most of England, Class L of the General Permitted Development Order lets a house change from C3 to a C4 HMO without an application. In East Ham that right has gone. Newham's Article 4 Direction on changes from C3 dwelling houses to C4 houses in multiple occupation was confirmed on 10 June 2013 and came into force on 31st July 2013, so even a three-person shared house needs planning permission. The owner or their agent applies; we price and programme from the approved layout.

Size changes the category as well. 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 in any borough. Class L also does not permit one former C3 house to be used as two or more separate C4 HMOs. Newham's Local Plan names Stratford and West Ham, East Ham, Manor Park and Canning Town as HMO hot spots, which is the background to any East Ham application.

Housing in East Ham

East Ham counts roughly 15,490 homes for Council Tax; 64% are older than 1919, 6% interwar and 30% post-war, with 41% flats and 59% houses.

Policy H3 and which East Ham buildings suit an HMO

Newham Local Plan 2018 Policy H3 says large and small HMOs should be purpose-built or converted from premises other than family-sized dwellings. For an East Ham investor that points away from the terraced family house and towards space above shops, former commercial buildings or an existing lawful HMO. A scheme that removes a family home faces the policy head on, so the building chosen matters more than the layout drawn inside it.

Upgrading an HMO that is already lawful is a different job. The use is established, so the work is about bringing the house up to the licence conditions and current fire standards: better separation, new fire doors, detection, extra bathrooms or a larger kitchen. London Plan Policy H9 says HMOs of a reasonable standard should generally be protected, and the London Plan asks boroughs to weigh the strategic as well as local importance of HMOs when considering Article 4 Directions. In East Ham, improving good HMOs fits that direction.

Mandatory and additional HMO licensing in East Ham

An HMO in East Ham falls under one of two licensing schemes. A mandatory licence is needed for an HMO shared by five or more people forming two or more households. Newham's additional licensing scheme, launched on 1 January 2023, covers HMOs shared by three or four people forming two or more households, and it operates in all wards except Royal Victoria and Stratford Olympic Park. The landlord applies for the licence, and the conditions it carries decide the layout we build.

The penalties make the order of work important. Letting a licensable property in Newham without a licence can lead to a financial penalty or an unlimited court fine. So the licence category is settled before the layout: how many occupants, how many households, which rooms sleep one or two. We then set out partitions, bathrooms and kitchens against the standards for that number, rather than building first and discovering at inspection that an East Ham room is too small or a kitchen is short.

Room sizes, kitchens and fire safety in an East Ham HMO

Newham's licensing accommodation standards give the numbers the plan has to meet. A shared kitchen must be at least 5.5 sq m for up to 3 sharers, 7.5 sq m for 4 to 5, 9.5 sq m for 6 to 7 and 11.5 sq m for 8 to 10. A newly converted kitchen needs a mechanical extractor even with an openable window. Any room under 4.64 square metres should not be used for sleeping. A bedsit with its own kitchen needs 13 sqm to 17.99 sqm for one person and 18 sqm or more for two.

Fire safety runs through the whole East Ham house. The layout needs a protected escape route, fire doors to bedrooms and kitchens, and interlinked smoke and heat detection. It is built to Part B, the council's HMO fire standards and the LACORS housing fire safety guidance, which is the recognised guide. Sound insulation between lettings, especially under a bedroom above a kitchen, is added while floors are open. The national minimum bedroom sizes, mandatory licence conditions since 1 October 2018, sit alongside the council's own figures: 6.51 square metres for one adult and 10.22 for two.

• Self-closing fire doors and frames to every bedroom and the kitchen
• Hot water sized for several sharers showering at once, with any gas work by a Gas Safe registered engineer
• Bedroom layouts checked against the national minimum room sizes

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 5 statistical areas in East Ham. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Once the hmo conversions work in East Ham is scoped, people usually go on to read bathroom renovation in East Ham, hmo conversions across Newham, bathroom fitting in London, what a snagging list covers, our London hmo conversions page and Central Heating Installation Cost.

Trusted HMO Conversions in East Ham

We turn an HMO consent and licence into a built house in one sequence: strip-out, fire separation, partitions, extra bathrooms and kitchens, services, detection, and finishes. You or your agent handle the planning application and the licence; we build to both and give you the method statement and programme the council's officers ask to see. A registered electrician certifies the wiring and alarm circuits, an engineer on the Gas Safe Register does the gas work, and the founder oversees the job to handover.

• Founder with 30+ years of hands-on experience
• Article 4 and licence position checked before a room is priced
• En-suites placed only where a soil stack can serve them

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