HMO Conversions Kensington

HMO work in Kensington covers two jobs: turning one of the area's few family houses into a shared house, and upgrading an existing HMO so it meets licensing. Both are shaped by the borough's own HMO standards, which sit above the national minimum, and by licensing that reaches every private let shared by three or more people from two or more households. The landlord applies for the licence; we build the rooms, kitchens, bathrooms and fire protection to its standards.

In Kensington, 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 Kensington: 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 a Kensington family house as a shared HMO

The planning question for a Kensington HMO turns on how many people will live there. Class L of the General Permitted Development Order 2015 permits a change from a C3 dwellinghouse to a C4 house in multiple occupation, which the London Plan glossary defines as an HMO for three to six people. An HMO for more than six people is sui generis and needs planning permission. Class L also does not allow one former C3 house to become two or more separate C4 HMOs, so a split into two shared units is a planning matter.

Your planning adviser confirms whether any local direction removes the Class L right before the house is bought or stripped. The London Plan asks boroughs weighing Article 4 directions on changes between C3 and C4 to consider the strategic as well as local importance of HMOs. Once a Kensington house is an HMO, it is also harder to undo: proposed main modification MM99 to policy HO1 protects HMOs unless the loss is for one of two stated exceptional reasons.

Housing in Kensington

For Kensington the Council Tax list gives about 9,000 homes; by type 85% flats and 15% houses, by age 19% post-war, 6% interwar and 75% older than 1919.

HMO licensing and room standards for Kensington shared lets

Letting a Kensington house or flat to sharers brings in licensing and the borough's own HMO room standards. Once three or more people living as two or more households share facilities in a private let, the property must hold a licence. Since 1 June 2023 the borough's Additional HMO licensing scheme has covered the HMOs that fall outside the Mandatory scheme. The owner or their agent makes the application, and we carry out the works it depends on.

Kensington and Chelsea has adopted local HMO standards above the national minimum for three categories of HMO. Its guide for flats in multiple occupation and shared houses puts the smallest sleeping room at 8.5 square metres for one person and 11 square metres for two. Under the shared house standard, no room may be occupied by more than two persons, whatever their age. Those figures tell you whether a room plan works before a partition moves or a door is hung.

Kitchens, bathrooms and WCs to the Kensington HMO standard

Shared facilities in a Kensington HMO are sized by the borough's standard, and they decide where the plumbing goes. Kitchens in flats in multiple occupation and shared houses must be no smaller than 5.5 square metres. Where four or fewer people share, there must be at least one WC per four persons, no more than one floor from each user. Baths must be at least 1600mm x 700mm and showers at least 800mm x 800mm, so a compact shower tray bought for a flat may not pass.

In a tall Kensington townhouse those rules shape the stack. A second WC or shower room on an upper landing is often what keeps every bedroom within a floor of a WC, and it needs a soil route, ventilation and a floor strong enough for a tiled wet room. The national licence minimums of 6.51 square metres for one adult, 10.22 for two, and no sleeping room under 4.64 sit beneath the local figures. We set out each room and facility on the floor from the approved layout, and measure again before boarding.

Fire safety, sound and energy in a Kensington HMO

Fire protection is the heart of a Kensington HMO conversion. The escape route through the hall and stair is protected with fire resisting walls and ceilings, bedrooms and the kitchen typically get fire doors with self-closers, and interlinked smoke and heat detection covers the rooms and the route. LACORS housing fire safety guidance is the recognised guide for the level of protection, the council's HMO fire standards apply on licensing, and building regulations Part B covers any building work. Fire stopping around pipes and cables is inspected before ceilings close.

Sound and energy come next. Sharers live on different hours, so floors and walls between lettings benefit from acoustic insulation laid before the boards go down. On energy, since 1 April 2020 a landlord may not let, or continue to let, a domestic property rated below EPC band E without a valid exemption. That reaches an HMO whenever it is let in a way that needs an EPC. Renting out an unlicensed HMO can lead to an unlimited fine, so the works are finished and certified before the first tenant moves in.

• Shared kitchens enlarged or added for the number of occupants
• Interlinked smoke and heat alarms, mains-wired and graded to the council's HMO fire guidance
• Emergency lighting on the escape route where the house needs it

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for Kensington Abingdon and Kensington Gardens. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Related reading for Kensington landlords planning hmo conversions: bathroom renovation in Kensington, hmo conversions across Kensington and Chelsea, bathroom fitting in London, what a kitchen fit covers, hmo conversions anywhere in London and Small Bathroom Ideas.

The GS Renovation Difference in Kensington

An HMO is inspected room by room, so we build it that way. We measure every bedroom, kitchen and bathroom against the borough's standards before partitions go up, fit fire doors, detection and fire stopping in the order building control and the licence inspection expect to see them, and keep a record of each stage. The landlord or their agent applies for planning and the licence; we build to the approved layout and supply the drawings, programme and certificates the application needs.

• Article 4 and licence position checked before a room is priced
• En-suites placed only where a soil stack can serve them
• Fully insured, with cover in place on every site

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