HMO Conversions Stevenage

An HMO conversion in Stevenage begins with planning, because a borough-wide Article 4 direction has removed the right to turn a family house into a small shared house without permission. The candidate is usually a terrace: 52% of Stevenage homes are terraced houses. We turn a family house into a shared house, or upgrade an existing HMO, to the planning consent and the licence standards, with the fire safety, amenities and room sizes the licence holder will be inspected against.

For Stevenage, 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 (Mayfair Studio and LetCompliance, 2026); a Hertfordshire price follows a site visit. GS Renovation Ltd, a building contractor based in Potters Bar, does the work in Stevenage: 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 permission for a shared house anywhere in Stevenage

Since 20 September 2017, an Article 4 direction covering the whole of Stevenage has removed the permitted change from a C3 house to a C4 small HMO. It was made on 19 September 2016 and confirmed on 24 May 2017. A shared house for three to six unrelated people therefore needs a planning application anywhere in the borough, and a larger HMO of seven or more is sui generis and needs one in any case. Budget the programme around the decision date, not the day you buy.

The application is made by you or your agent, and it is judged on the house and the street. The Local Plan Partial Update adopted on 22 July 2026 replaced the 2019 plan, and its housing policies changed with it, so your designer should work from the adopted version. Expect parking, bin and cycle storage and the effect on neighbours to be examined, and show each clearly on the drawings. We price the build only against the approved room count, because each extra bedroom changes the fire, amenity and licensing requirements.

Housing in Stevenage

By the valuation list's count, Stevenage holds about 38,430 homes, 76% houses and 24% flats; by age, 2% were built before 1919, 1% between the wars and 96% since 1945.

HMO licensing in Stevenage and what the council checks

Mandatory licensing covers an HMO with five or more people forming more than one household, under rules Stevenage notes came into force on 1 October 2018. To grant a licence, the council must be satisfied the property is suitable for, and has adequate facilities for, the number of people applied for. The landlord or their agent applies for the licence, and we build to the standards it sets. Ask your agent to confirm whether any other council scheme applies to your address before you commit.

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.

A smaller shared house is not outside the rules. Stevenage says HMOs that do not need a licence may still need fire precaution works and extra amenities such as kitchens, toilets and bathrooms. Its proactive HMO inspection programme covers flats in multiple occupation as well as houses, so a flat let to sharers can be inspected too. Build every Stevenage shared house to the licensed standard from the start, because putting it right after an inspection costs more than building it once.

Bedroom sizes, bathrooms and kitchens in a Stevenage HMO

Every letting room must meet the national minimum sleeping room sizes, mandatory licence conditions in England since 2018. They are 6.51 square metres for one person over 10, 10.22 for two people over 10, and no room under 4.64 square metres used for sleeping at all. Stevenage calls these a statutory minimum, not an optimal room size, and measures wall to wall, leaving out any part where the ceiling is 1.5 m or lower. In a three bedroom Stevenage terrace the small third bedroom is often the room that fails, so the plan may turn the front reception into a letting room instead.

Amenities follow the number of sharers. Where five or more occupiers share facilities, Stevenage requires one separate toilet with wash hand basin for every five sharing occupiers, and its standards ask for at least one bathroom with a fixed bath or shower for every five. The kitchen has to be sized and equipped for everyone using it. Plan the new shower room over the existing soil stack where you can, because that keeps drainage runs short and the ceilings below intact.

Fire safety, alarms and certificates for a Stevenage HMO

Fire safety is the core of the build. The escape route through the hall and stair becomes a protected route, each letting room gets a self-closing fire door, and the house gets interlinked detection to the level the LACORS housing fire safety guidance sets for its size. For two storey HMOs with Grade D alarms, Stevenage requires evidence that the alarms have been checked yearly for the duration of the licence. We fit the system to the design, and a registered electrician commissions and certifies it.

Taller houses carry more paperwork. For licensed HMOs of three or more storeys, Stevenage asks for a fire inspection certificate dated within the previous 6 months, so the fire doors, emergency lighting and alarm need finishing in time for that inspection. Sound insulation between letting rooms helps sharers live together. A let property also needs an EPC rating of at least E under the minimum energy efficiency standard, for existing tenancies as well as new ones, so check the EPC before the insulation, heating and windows are specified for the Stevenage house.

• Sound lining to bedroom walls and party walls
• Shared kitchens enlarged or added for the number of occupants
• Large HMO conversions for seven or more, once planning is granted

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 12 statistical areas in Stevenage. Counts rounded by the VOA.

If you are weighing up options for your Stevenage property, it is worth reading bathroom renovation in Stevenage, hmo conversions in Hitchin, what a main building contractor does, kitchen fitting in London, our London hmo conversions page and Getting Planning Permission.

Working With GS Renovation in Stevenage

An HMO conversion packs fire separation, detection, extra bathrooms, kitchen capacity and room layouts into a house built for one family. We run it as one programme, build to the planning consent and the licence standards, and hand over the alarm and electrical certificates the licence holder has to keep. You or your agent apply for planning and the licence, and we supply the drawings, programme and completion records that go with them. New wiring is certified by a registered electrician.

• EPC upgrades done while the walls and floors are still open
• Site left safe and secure at the end of every day
• Finished and snagged before the council's licence inspection

Reviewed jobs near Stevenage

1 MyBuilder review from Stevenage, with each customer's own job title:

• Kitchen worktops, Stevenage, 24 Jun 2021 (5 out of 5)

Read all 31 on our reviews page.

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