HMO Conversions South Kensington

HMO conversion in South Kensington is licensing-led work. Kensington and Chelsea requires a licence for every privately rented home shared by three or more people living as two or more households, through mandatory licensing and its Additional HMO licensing scheme, implemented on 1 June 2023. The council also sets its own HMO standards above the national minimum. With 85% of homes here already flats, the job can be upgrading an existing shared house or flat to those standards as well as turning a family house into a new HMO.

In South 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 South 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 South Kensington HMO: Class L, C4 and sui generis

Start with the use class. Class L of the General Permitted Development Order 2015 allows a house to change from Class C3 to Class C4, a small HMO, as permitted development, but it does not allow one former house to become two or more separate C4 HMOs. The London Plan glossary puts HMOs for three to six people in Class C4 and those for more than six in Sui Generis, which needs planning permission. Your designer confirms with the council whether any direction affects the address in South Kensington.

Losing an HMO later is set to be restricted. Proposed main modification MM99 to policy HO1 would protect HMOs unless the loss is for one of two reasons: an upgrade to the council's HMO standards that loses some rooms, or a layout that cannot be upgraded to meet them. London Plan Policy H9 also says HMOs of a reasonable standard should generally be protected. An HMO created now should therefore be planned as a long term use of the building.

Housing in South Kensington

Take the 8,840 or so homes the valuation list gives South Kensington: 85% flats, 15% houses, 84% from before 1919, 3% interwar and 12% post-war.

Which South Kensington HMOs need a licence, and which scheme

Licensing in the borough is wide. Any privately rented property in Kensington and Chelsea lived in by three or more people as two or more separate households sharing facilities must be licensed. Mandatory licensing takes HMOs with five or more occupiers forming more than one household, and the Additional HMO licensing scheme, implemented on 1 June 2023, takes the rest. The borough makes one exception to that split: a purpose-built flat in a block of more than two self-contained flats falls under the Additional scheme even with five or more sharers.

One category is exempt. A building converted into self-contained flats that does not meet the 1991 Building Regulations, where at least a third of the flats are privately rented, is an HMO in law but does not need a licence here. The landlord or their agent applies for any licence that is needed, and we build the rooms, kitchens, bathrooms and fire precautions to the layout and conditions on which the licence is granted.

South Kensington HMO room sizes, kitchens and bathrooms

The council's own standards govern the layout. Kensington and Chelsea has adopted local HMO standards above the national minimum for three categories of HMO. Its guide for shared houses and flats in multiple occupation sets a sleeping room of at least 8.5 square metres for one person and 11 square metres for two, and no room may hold more than two people, whatever their ages. The national mandatory minimums are lower: 6.51 square metres for one adult, 10.22 for two, and no sleeping room under 4.64. In a South Kensington terrace, the local figure can decide whether a small back room can be let at all.

Shared facilities are sized as well. Kitchens must be at least 5.5 square metres, and where four or fewer people share there must be at least one WC per four people, no more than one floor from each user. The minimum bath is 1600mm x 700mm and the minimum shower 800mm x 800mm. We set out the drainage and pipework to those sizes at first fix, so a room is not found to be undersized after tiling.

Fire safety, sound and energy in a South Kensington shared house

Fire precautions are the core of an HMO conversion. The escape route through the stair is protected with fire resisting walls and ceilings, each bedroom gets a fire door with a self closer, and an interlinked detection and alarm system covers the rooms and the stair. The LACORS housing fire safety guidance is the recognised guide for the level of protection, and building regulations Part B applies to the work. In a tall South Kensington terrace, the height of the stair shapes the fire strategy.

Sound and energy follow. Sound insulation between bedrooms and between floors cuts complaints between lettings, so walls and ceilings are upgraded while they are open. An HMO is also a let property, so where the MEES Regulations cover the letting the EPC must reach at least E unless a valid exemption applies, and MEES rules are enforced by local authorities. Insulation, heating controls and efficient lighting go into the same programme, and the new certificate is commissioned before the first tenancy.

• Thumb-turn bedroom locks that open from inside without a key
• En-suite shower rooms added to bedrooms
• 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 South Kensington and Queen's Gate. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Useful next reading for a hmo conversions project in South Kensington: bathroom renovation in South Kensington, hmo conversions across Kensington and Chelsea, bathroom fitting in London, what a snagging list covers, hmo conversions across London and Kitchen Renovation Cost.

The GS Renovation Difference in South Kensington

An HMO is judged on paper as well as on site, so we build to the licence layout and the council's standards exactly. We check room sizes at setting out, fit the fire doors, detection and protected escape route as specified, and set out bathrooms and kitchens to the borough's minimums before tiling. The landlord or their agent handles the licence application, and we supply the as-built information they need. A registered electrician certifies the installation and the alarm system, and the programme is built around your first letting date.

• EPC upgrades done while the walls and floors are still open
• Fire doors, closers and seals fitted to every door on the escape route
• Registered in England, Companies House no. 14611254

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