HMO Conversions Haringey

HMO conversion in Haringey is controlled at both ends. Planning is restricted by an Article 4 Direction in force since 30 November 2013 across wards including Noel Park, St Ann's, Seven Sisters, South Tottenham, Tottenham Central and Tottenham Hale. Licensing is borough-wide: under the additional licensing scheme every rented HMO in Haringey needs a licence. We build the room layout, kitchens, bathrooms and fire protection to the standards the licence conditions set, once the planning route is settled.

In Haringey, 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 Haringey: 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 for a Haringey HMO: Article 4 and Policy DM17

Whether a Haringey house can become a shared house starts with planning. Nationally, Class L permits a change from a dwellinghouse in Class C3 to a small HMO in Class C4, for three to six people, without an application. Haringey's Article 4 Direction has removed that right since 30 November 2013 in wards including Noel Park, St Ann's, Seven Sisters, South Tottenham, Tottenham Central and Tottenham Hale, so there even a small HMO needs planning permission.

An HMO for more than six people is sui generis and needs permission anywhere in the borough. Where permission is needed, Haringey Policy DM17 permits converting a larger home to an HMO only where the gross original internal floor space is greater than 120m2. Class L also does not allow one former house to be used as two or more separate C4 HMOs. Settle the planning position with your agent before design, because Haringey grants a shorter licence, usually 1 year, where an HMO lacks the permission it needs.

Housing in Haringey

Of the 114,980 homes the valuation list records in Haringey, 54% were built before 1919, 11% between the wars and 35% since 1945; 64% are flats and 36% are houses.

Haringey's additional HMO licensing scheme and what it means

Every rented HMO in Haringey needs a licence at present. The borough-wide additional HMO licensing designation, No 4 of 2024, came into force on 17 June 2024 and ends on 16 June 2029. A large HMO, which GOV.UK defines as rented to 5 or more people forming more than 1 household, needs a mandatory licence anywhere in England. The Haringey scheme brings in the smaller HMOs as well, and Section 257 HMOs, which are converted blocks of flats.

One exception matters here: a flat in a purpose-built block of three or more self-contained flats falls outside mandatory licensing, although a council's additional scheme can still cover it.

You or your agent apply for the licence; our part is to build the house to the standard its conditions require, and to hand over the certificates the application needs. GOV.UK warns that renting out an unlicensed HMO can lead to an unlimited fine, so the build programme should finish with the fire alarm, electrical and gas certificates ready before the first tenant moves in. We plan the inspection and testing dates around your intended letting date in Haringey.

Room sizes, kitchens and bathrooms to Haringey HMO standards

The layout of a Haringey HMO is set by the licence conditions. Under the 2024-2029 conditions any room used for sleeping by one person aged over 10 must be at least 6.51 square metres, so small back bedrooms and box rooms are measured before the room count is fixed. The national mandatory conditions add 10.22 square metres for two people over 10, and no room under 4.64 square metres may be used for sleeping. A front reception can often become a letting room, but only if the shared kitchen and living space that remain still meet the standard for the number of occupiers.

Haringey's HMO standards ask for at least one bath or shower and one WC for every five occupiers where they are shared, and a shared kitchen serves a maximum of three lettings. A six-letting house for six sharers therefore needs two sets of kitchen facilities or en-suite kitchenettes, and a second bathroom and WC. Kitchen facilities must never be installed within a staircase enclosure, which rules out a kitchen on the landing and shapes where new drainage and extraction can go.

Fire safety, sound and energy in a Haringey shared house

Fire protection is the heaviest part of an HMO build in Haringey. The stair becomes a protected escape route, with fire-resisting doors and self-closers to every letting room and the kitchen, a fire-rated enclosure to the stair, and a mains-powered interlinked detection and alarm system to the grade the licence asks for. The LACORS housing fire safety guidance is the recognised guide. A small HMO is not a material change of use under the building regulations, but the fire work must still comply, and because the Fire Safety Order covers the shared parts it goes in on full plans.

Sound between lettings is the next issue, because each room is someone's home, so we insulate walls and floors between rooms and keep noisy plant away from bedrooms. Energy matters too. GOV.UK says that since 1 April 2018 private landlords may not let on new tenancies with an EPC of F or G unless an exemption applies, and since 1 April 2020 the E minimum has covered continuing lets as well. Insulation and heating controls are therefore renewed while the Haringey house is stripped out.

• Emergency lighting on the escape route where the house needs it
• Large HMO conversions for seven or more, once planning is granted
• Snagging before the council's licence inspection

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 36 statistical areas in Haringey. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Once you know the scope of the hmo conversions in Haringey, it helps to read bathroom renovation in Haringey, our Haringey area guide, how building control works in London, kitchen fitting in London, hmo conversions across London and How to Choose a Builder.

The GS Renovation Difference in Haringey

You get one contractor who builds to the licence conditions from the start, so room sizes, kitchens, bathrooms and fire doors are checked against Haringey's standards before walls are built. We work from your designer's drawings and give your agent the programme and specification for the licence application. We coordinate the registered electrician, the registered gas engineer and the fire alarm installer, and hand over their certificates for the licence file before your letting date.

• EPC upgrades done while the walls and floors are still open
• Registered in England, Companies House no. 14611254
• Existing HMOs brought up to licence conditions, fire works first

Reviewed jobs near Haringey

2 MyBuilder reviews from Wood Green and Hornsey, with each customer's own job title:

• New kitchen install moving plumbing, elecs, flooring, Wood Green, 19 Jan 2022 (5 out of 5)
• New Kitchen Assembly & Others for Interior Designer, Hornsey, 5 Jan 2022 (5 out of 5)

Read all 31 on our reviews page.

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