HMO Conversions Romford

HMO conversion in Romford starts with planning. Havering's two HMO Article 4 Directions, in force since 13 July 2016, remove the usual permitted change to a small shared house for most house types. Every ward is now inside an additional licensing scheme for smaller HMOs. For a landlord that means consent first, then a build to the council's room, kitchen and fire standards, then the licence. We carry out the building work to those standards.

In Romford, 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 Romford: 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.

HMO Article 4 Directions and Policy 8 in Romford

Letting a Romford house by the room is a different route from flats, and Havering has removed the usual permitted change. Class L would normally let a house become a small HMO without an application, but Havering's two HMO Article 4 Directions have been in force since 13 July 2016. The first covers the Brooklands, Romford Town, Heaton and Gooshays wards. The second covers flats, terraced and semi-detached houses in the rest of the borough. The wards are named as they stood when the directions were made, so check the address against the direction's plan.

If the change needs consent, Havering tests it against Local Plan Policy 8. The original house has to measure 120 sq m or more, and the shared house cannot take a street past 10% HMOs. A shared living or dining room must also seat every occupant together. So before buying a Romford house to let by the room, measure the floor area as first built and count the shared houses already on the street.

Housing in Romford

By the valuation list's count, Romford holds about 20,230 homes, 65% houses and 35% flats; by age, 15% were built before 1919, 42% between the wars and 43% since 1945.

Mandatory, additional and selective licensing in Romford

A shared house in Romford is likely to need a licence whatever its size. Five or more people from two or more households sharing a kitchen, bathroom or WC puts the house in the mandatory scheme, the 5 and 2 thresholds Havering uses. Smaller shared houses fall under Scheme 3, Havering's additional licensing for every ward, running from 18 March 2026 until 17 March 2031. The landlord makes the application; we build to the conditions the licence will set.

Sequence matters here. Apply before the C3 to C4 change has planning consent and Havering grants a 1 year licence only, and the council says the fee is not refundable if permission is then refused. Scheme 2, the selective scheme, is a separate matter: it covers single-family lets in seven named wards, Rush Green and Crowlands and Squirrels Heath among them, which counts if the house later goes back to one household.

Kitchens, bathrooms and shared space in a Romford HMO

Havering's accommodation standards set how much kitchen a shared house needs. Where lettings do not have their own, it requires one full set of shared cooking facilities per 5 persons, and the shared kitchen should be no more than one floor away from the letting. On a three-storey Romford house with rooms at the top, that can mean a second kitchen on the upper floor, which sets the drainage and extract routes before any partition is built.

Any kitchen formed in the conversion gets a mechanical extractor, whether or not its window opens. Communal space counts only as an unlocked room with seating of 4.6 sq m or more, or as a kitchen with 4.6 sq m added for a table. Bathrooms and WCs are sized to the headcount the licence will allow. We mark out every room against those figures on the bare floor first, along with the national licence minimums: 6.51 sq m for one sleeper over 10, 10.22 sq m for two, and no sleeping room under 4.64 sq m.

Fire safety, sound and EPC rating in a Romford shared house

Fire safety is the core of an HMO build. In the kitchen Havering wants a fire blanket, a mains heat detector and a fire rated door. Beyond it, the designer specifies fire doors to each letting, linked smoke detection and a protected escape route, following Part B and the LACORS housing fire safety guidance. We fit closers, intumescent seals and fire stopping round every pipe and cable that passes through.

Sound and energy come next. Lettings share walls and floors, so we add insulation and a resilient layer where a bedroom sits over a kitchen or next to a stair. Havering's rented housing standards look for effective insulation and efficient heating to reach an EPC of E or better where applicable. GOV.UK adds that from 1 April 2020 a property below E cannot be let, or stay let, without a valid exemption.

• Shared kitchens enlarged or added for the number of occupants
• Bedroom layouts checked against the national minimum room sizes
• 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 all 5 statistical areas in Romford. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Plenty of Romford projects start with one job and grow, so it helps to see bathroom renovation in Romford, hmo conversions across Havering, bathroom fitting in London, what a kitchen fit covers, hmo conversions anywhere in London and How to Choose a Builder.

Working With GS Renovation in Romford

An HMO in Romford only earns once it is licensed, and the licence inspection looks at the exact things builders tend to skimp: fire doors, detection, extraction and room sizes. We build to the approved plans and the council's standards as one programme under one contact. Our founder has more than three decades of hands-on building experience. A registered electrician certifies the alarm and electrical work, and you get a written quotation after a survey and a programme that runs from consent to licence inspection.

• Sound lining between bedrooms so one sharer does not keep another awake
• Detection laid out to the grade the council's HMO fire guidance sets
• Materials priced at options, so you choose the finish

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