HMO Conversions Havering

An HMO conversion in Havering is under planning control through two Article 4 Directions: one for four named wards, and one elsewhere for flats, terraced and semi-detached houses. Havering Local Plan Policy 8 then supports HMOs only where the original property is at least 120 sq m and no more than 10% of properties in the street become HMOs. Licensing applies across the whole borough. We build the rooms, kitchens, bathrooms and fire protection the planning consent and the licence call for.

In Havering, 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 Havering: 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.

Article 4 and planning permission for a Havering HMO

Turning a Havering house into shared housing needs planning permission in far more cases than national rules suggest. Class L of the General Permitted Development Order 2015 would otherwise allow a change from C3 dwellinghouses to C4 houses in multiple occupation without an application. Havering's two Article 4 Directions on houses in multiple occupation were made on 3 November 2015 and came into force on 13 July 2016. The first covers the Brooklands, Romford Town, Heaton and Gooshays wards.

Outside those four wards, the second direction means turning a flat, terraced house or semi-detached house into an HMO needs planning permission. For a detached house outside those wards, the owner's consultant confirms the position with the council. An HMO for more than six people is sui generis in any case, so it needs permission everywhere. Havering Local Plan Policy 8 then asks for an original property of at least 120 sq m and a street where no more than 10% of properties would become HMOs. The owner's planning consultant checks the street count before a layout is drawn.

Housing in Havering

Of the 108,680 homes the valuation list records in Havering, 5% were built before 1919, 36% between the wars and 59% since 1945; 26% are flats and 74% are houses.

Mandatory and additional HMO licensing across Havering

In Havering, large and small HMOs now both need a licence. In Havering a mandatory licence is needed for a property occupied by 5 or more people from 2 or more households sharing facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. Havering's additional licensing scheme (Scheme 3) for smaller HMOs applies to all wards in the borough and runs from 18 March 2026 until 17 March 2031, so a three or four person shared house is licensed too.

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.

Order matters. Havering issues only a 1 year licence for an HMO application submitted without planning consent already approved for the change of use from C3 to C4. It also states it cannot refund the licence fee if planning permission for the HMO is refused. Get the planning decision first, then build, then license. The landlord applies for the licence; we programme the build so the fire doors, alarms and room layout are finished before the inspection.

If the building is listed, the works themselves are a separate question: anything that affects its character, inside or out, needs listed building consent from Havering Council, and carrying it out without consent is a criminal offence.

Kitchens, bathrooms and shared space to Havering's standards

A Havering HMO is built to the council's accommodation standards as well as building regulations. Havering's standards require one full set of shared cooking facilities per 5 persons where lettings do not contain their own, and newly converted kitchens must have a mechanical extractor even where there is an openable window. Shared kitchens should be no more than one floor away from the letting, which often decides where a second kitchen sits in a taller house.

Shared space is a planning test and a licence standard. Havering Policy 8 requires an HMO to contain communal space, a dining or living area, large enough for all occupants to use at the same time. Havering defines communal space as an unlocked room of at least 4.6 sq m with seating, or a kitchen with an extra 4.6 sq m for a table and seating. We set out the kitchen and dining area to those figures before the units are ordered.

Fire safety, room sizes and energy in a Havering HMO

Fire protection in a Havering HMO starts in the kitchen. Havering's standards require HMOs to have a fire blanket and a mains powered heat detector in the kitchen, with a fire rated internal kitchen door. Beyond the kitchen, the layout follows Part B of the building regulations and the LACORS housing fire safety guidance. That means fire doors with self closers to every letting, interlinked mains smoke detection and a protected escape route down the stair to the front door.

Bedroom sizes are licence conditions. National minimum room sizes for sleeping rooms apply to every licensed HMO in England, and a room below the smallest size cannot be used for sleeping at all. We check each room against the licence schedule before partitions go up. Energy counts as well. Havering's private rented accommodation standards expect effective insulation and efficient heating giving an EPC rating of at least E where applicable, so insulation and heating go in during the first fix.

• Self-closing fire doors and frames to every bedroom and the kitchen
• Snagging before the council's licence inspection
• Interlinked smoke and heat alarms, mains-wired and graded to the council's HMO fire guidance

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 30 statistical areas in Havering. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Two or three things usually come up alongside hmo conversions on a Havering job: bathroom renovation in Havering, our Havering area guide, how building control works in London, how snagging works at handover, hmo conversions anywhere in London and Small Bathroom Ideas.

Why Choose GS Renovation in Havering

An HMO has to pass a planning officer, a building control inspector and a licensing inspection, and each looks for different things. We build to all three: the approved layout, the fire doors, detection and escape routes, the kitchens and bathrooms each occupant needs, and the insulation and heating the energy rating depends on. The landlord or their agent applies for planning and the licence; we work from the designer's drawings and give you the programme, schedule and certificates those applications need, and finish the house before the licence inspection is booked.

• Existing HMOs brought up to licence conditions, fire works first
• Detection laid out to the grade the council's HMO fire guidance sets
• Honest updates if a date or a detail has to move

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