HMO Conversions Wandsworth

HMO conversion in Wandsworth is shaped by licensing and by a policy that protects family houses. Wandsworth introduced additional HMO licensing on 1 July 2025 for HMOs outside mandatory licensing, and its Local Plan Policy LP29, adopted on 4 March 2026, supports a new HMO only where family housing is not lost. We build and upgrade shared houses to the room sizes, amenity and fire standards the licence sets, once the landlord has the consents.

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.

In Wandsworth, 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 Wandsworth: 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.

When a Wandsworth HMO needs planning permission

The size of the HMO decides the planning route. Nationally, Class L makes a change from a C3 house to a C4 HMO for three to six sharers permitted development, but an Article 4 direction can remove that right, so ask Wandsworth whether one covers the street before relying on it. Class L does not allow one house to become two or more separate HMOs. Wandsworth says planning permission is needed to let a property as an HMO to seven or more people.

Where permission is needed, Policy LP29 Housing with Shared Facilities applies. Among other criteria, it supports a new HMO only where it does not cause the loss of family housing as defined in Part A of Policy LP26. The site also needs public transport access of PTAL 4 or higher and suitable shops and services nearby. The London Plan asks boroughs to protect HMOs of a reasonable standard, so an existing shared house of a reasonable standard is generally protected.

Housing in Wandsworth

Take the 157,900 or so homes the valuation list gives Wandsworth: 72% flats, 28% houses, 43% from before 1919, 7% interwar and 49% post-war.

Mandatory and additional HMO licensing in Wandsworth

A large HMO, rented to 5 or more people forming more than 1 household, needs a mandatory licence. Since 1 July 2025 Wandsworth's additional HMO licensing covers HMOs not already under mandatory licensing, so a smaller shared house of three or four sharers now needs a licence too. The additional scheme does not apply to Section 257 HMOs, meaning certain converted flats or blocks of self-contained flats. Renting out an unlicensed HMO can lead to an unlimited fine.

A licence is not planning permission, and the two need to agree. Wandsworth usually grants a property licence for five years, but a reduced term, usually one year, is likely where planning permission is required for HMO use or has been refused. The landlord or their agent makes the licence application. We build to the layout that application is based on, so the rooms measured by the council's officer match the plans submitted.

Room sizes, heights and amenities in a Wandsworth HMO

Wandsworth's licence conditions set a minimum of 6.51 square metres for a room slept in by one person aged over 10, and 10.22 square metres for two, matching the national mandatory conditions. No room under 4.64 square metres may be used for sleeping at all. Where a bedsit has its own kitchen facilities, the council's standards add 3.5 square metres on top of the bedroom minimum. Sizes are measured on usable floor area, so fixed boxing and built-in cupboards come off it while a door swing does not. Those numbers decide where partitions go, whether a box room can be let at all, and how many rooms a Wandsworth terrace can hold.

Height and shared facilities come next. The minimum habitable room height is 2.3 metres, with existing attic rooms allowed 2.14 metres over at least 75% of the room, so we measure the top floor before the layout is fixed. Where exclusive facilities cannot be provided, Wandsworth asks for one bathroom or shower room, one toilet and one wash hand basin for every 5 occupants. Kitchens are sized to the number of sharers and fitted with enough worktop, storage and cooking points.

Fire safety, noise and energy ratings in shared houses

Fire safety sets the shape of an HMO build. The escape route, usually the stair and hall, is enclosed in fire-resisting construction, bedroom and kitchen doors become self-closing fire doors, and an interlinked detection and alarm system covers every room and the escape route. The LACORS housing fire safety guidance is the recognised national guide for existing shared houses, alongside Part B of the Building Regulations where building work is done. We build to the fire strategy agreed for the licence.

Sharers live closer together than a family, so sound matters. Upgrading the floors and partitions between bedrooms with insulation and a second layer of board cuts noise between lettings. Energy rating is a letting requirement too: Wandsworth states that all HMOs must have an Energy Performance Certificate rated E or above under the MEES regulations, unless exempted. The government has confirmed plans to raise the minimum for private lets to EPC C, subject to regulations, so we plan loft and wall insulation and heating upgrades with the assessor's recommendations and that level in mind.

• Existing HMOs upgraded to meet their licence conditions
• Thumb-turn bedroom locks that open from inside without a key
• Separate WCs and wash basins to the amenity standard

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 38 statistical areas in Wandsworth. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Before committing to hmo conversions in Wandsworth, it is worth looking at bathroom renovation in Wandsworth, our Wandsworth area guide, bathroom fitting in London, how snagging works at handover, our London hmo conversions page and Small Bathroom Ideas.

Why Choose GS Renovation in Wandsworth

An HMO build is inspected against a licence as well as the Building Regulations, so we measure every room, set out partitions to the licence plans and install the fire doors, detection and escape route to the agreed strategy. One team runs the strip-out, partitions, kitchens, shower rooms and decoration, and a registered electrician certifies the alarm and circuits. The landlord or their agent handles the licence and any planning application, and we supply the drawings, programme and certificates they need.

• En-suites placed only where a soil stack can serve them
• Honest updates if a date or a detail has to move
• Every bedroom measured against the national minimum room sizes

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