HMO Conversions Pimlico

With 94% of Pimlico homes already flats and only 6% houses, whole-house HMOs can only be a small part of the picture here. HMO work in Pimlico also covers flat shares inside stucco townhouses and post-war blocks, and older converted buildings that Westminster's rules treat as HMOs. HMO conversion in Pimlico therefore means laying out and upgrading shared homes to meet the council's licensing schemes and standards, with fire safety at the centre.

In Pimlico, 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 Pimlico: 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 use classes for a Pimlico HMO

Start with the planning use class, because it decides whether a Pimlico HMO needs permission at all. Class L of the General Permitted Development Order lets a single house in Use Class C3 become a C4 HMO for three to six people without an application. It does not let one former house become two or more separate C4 HMOs. An HMO for more than six people is Sui Generis, so a larger scheme needs planning permission.

Permitted development can also be removed locally by an Article 4 Direction. The London Plan asks boroughs weighing C3 to C4 directions to consider the strategic as well as the local importance of HMOs, and Policy H9 says HMOs of a reasonable standard should generally be protected. Your designer or agent checks with Westminster whether any direction covers the Pimlico building before a layout is drawn. If one does, a change from a family house to a shared house needs an application first.

Housing in Pimlico

By the valuation list's count, Pimlico holds about 10,180 homes, 6% houses and 94% flats; by age, 55% were built before 1919, 10% between the wars and 34% since 1945.

Which Westminster licence a Pimlico shared home needs

A Pimlico shared home needs a licence in almost every case, and the household size decides which. GOV.UK defines a large HMO as one rented to 5 or more people who form more than 1 household, and that falls under mandatory licensing. Smaller shares fall under Westminster's renewed Additional HMO Licensing Scheme, which came into effect on 31 August 2026 and runs until 30 August 2031 across the whole city.

That scheme covers homes where three or more people from two or more households share a kitchen or bathroom, including flat shares, bedsits and some converted flats outside mandatory licensing. Westminster first introduced additional licensing on 30 August 2021, and the renewed scheme continues it, so a Pimlico HMO licensed under the first scheme is checked against the conditions of the new one before any upgrade is scoped. The landlord makes the application. We build to the conditions attached, and renting out an unlicensed HMO can lead to an unlimited fine.

Kitchens, bedrooms and room sizes in a Pimlico HMO

Westminster's HMO standards set the layout of a shared home, not just its finish. The council has four sets of standards for different types of multiple occupancy, updated in April 2021, and can attach works conditions to a licence to achieve them. Under its shared house and flat standard, a kitchen must be at least 5.5 square metres and arranged for safe access and use, and no more than two people may sleep in one bedroom, counting a child as a person.

The national minimum bedroom sizes are also mandatory licence conditions: 6.51 square metres for one adult, 10.22 for two, and no sleeping room under 4.64. Westminster says it has a legal duty to act where they are breached, though it allows an 18 month period for correction. In a Pimlico flat with a small galley kitchen, the kitchen standard can limit the number of lettable rooms more than the bedrooms do. We set out partitions and fittings to the sizes the licence requires, and measure each room before plastering.

Fire safety and older conversions in Pimlico

Fire safety is the core of HMO building work in Pimlico. A shared home needs fire doors to the bedrooms and kitchen, interlinked detection and alarms, and a protected escape route to the street, built to Part B and to the council's HMO fire standards. LACORS housing fire safety guidance is the recognised national guide to the fire precautions a shared house needs. We build the escape route, fire stop the service penetrations and fit the doors with their frames and closers.

Older conversions are a trap for buyers. Westminster's standards treat a building converted into self-contained flats as an HMO where the work falls short of the 1991 Building Regulations and long leaseholders hold fewer than two thirds of the flats. Westminster also notes that converted flats not all fully self contained may need a mandatory or additional licence. Run both tests before buying a Pimlico building to upgrade. If either applies, the licence conditions set the upgrade, not just the building regulations.

• Shared kitchens enlarged or added for the number of occupants
• Small HMO conversions for three to six sharers
• Hot water sized for several sharers showering at once, with any gas work by a Gas Safe registered engineer

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for Pimlico North and Pimlico South. Counts rounded by the VOA.

For the wider picture around hmo conversions in Pimlico, see bathroom renovation in Pimlico, hmo conversions across Westminster, what a main building contractor does, what a snagging list covers, hmo conversions anywhere in London and Wet Room Guide.

Why Choose GS Renovation in Pimlico

We build HMO conversions and upgrades as one managed job, from strip out and fire separation to kitchens, bathrooms and decoration, so the landlord has one team answering for the programme. The landlord or their agent applies for the licence and any planning permission, and we build to the conditions and the approved drawings. A registered electrician installs and certifies the fire alarm and electrics, and we keep the paperwork the licensing officer asks to see.

• Free, no-obligation quotations
• Article 4 and licence position checked before a room is priced
• Sound lining between bedrooms so one sharer does not keep another awake

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