HMO Conversions Woolwich

HMO conversion in Woolwich is tightly controlled. Royal Greenwich's Article 4 direction requiring planning permission to turn a house into an HMO covers the whole borough and came into force on 27 September 2018, and the council runs mandatory and additional HMO licensing across the borough too. So a new shared house here needs both planning permission and a licence. We build or upgrade the house to the approved plans and to the council's HMO standards: room sizes, bathrooms, kitchens, fire doors, detection and escape.

In Woolwich, 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 Woolwich: 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.

HMOs in Woolwich: permission comes before the builder

An HMO in Woolwich needs planning permission first. Royal Greenwich says any new HMO for 3 or more unrelated adults requires permission. The London Plan glossary classes HMOs for three to six people as C4, and the borough-wide Article 4 direction removes the national Class L right to change from C3 to C4. Larger ones are Sui Generis and need permission anyway. The owner or their agent applies, and we build to what is approved.

Nationally, Class L also stops one house from becoming two or more separate C4 HMOs, though in Royal Greenwich the direction has removed the Class L route altogether. London Plan Policy H9 asks boroughs to take account of the role of HMOs in meeting housing need, and says HMOs of a reasonable standard should generally be protected. For an existing Woolwich HMO that is being upgraded, the question is the lawful use and the number of occupants, which the owner's planning adviser confirms before we price.

Housing in Woolwich

The stock in Woolwich runs to roughly 21,990 dwellings, 74% of them flats and 26% houses, built 24% before 1919, 2% between 1919 and 1939 and 75% after 1945.

Licensing every HMO in Woolwich and what it means on site

Licensing covers every HMO in Woolwich. Royal Greenwich runs mandatory HMO licensing where 5 or more people from 2 or more households share facilities, and additional licensing where 3 or 4 people do, both across the whole borough. GOV.UK defines an HMO as a property rented by at least 3 people who are not from 1 household but share facilities like the bathroom and kitchen. The landlord applies for the licence, and the works have to meet its conditions.

The penalties explain why the building work has to be right first time. Royal Greenwich can issue a Civil Penalty Notice on each person committing the offence of failing to licence an HMO, and GOV.UK says renting out an unlicensed HMO can lead to an unlimited fine. On a Woolwich job we work from the licensing officer's schedule, finish the fire and amenity items before tenants move in, and keep the certificates the inspection will ask to see.

Room sizes, headroom and bathrooms in a Woolwich HMO

Room sizes decide how many lettings a Woolwich house can hold. Royal Greenwich's HMO standards bar any room under 4.64 square metres from use as sleeping accommodation. National licence conditions add 6.51 square metres for one adult and 10.22 for two. The standards also expect a ceiling height of 2.1m over at least half of each room's floor area, with floor below 1.5m headroom discounted. That last rule bites in rooms under a sloping roof, so we measure each room at survey and check it before walls are set out, not after.

Bathrooms in a Woolwich HMO follow set sizes. Royal Greenwich's HMO standards set the minimum bath at 1700mm by 700mm and require every bath or shower room to also contain a wash hand basin. We plan wet rooms with those dimensions from the first drawing, stack them where possible to keep soil runs short, and give each letting room its own heating controls where the layout allows it. Any self-contained unit within the scheme is treated as a flat and must meet London Plan Policy D6.

Fire safety, sound and energy in a Woolwich shared house

Fire safety is the core of an HMO conversion in Woolwich. Each letting room opens onto a protected escape route, so bedroom doors become self-closing fire doors, the stair enclosure is lined and fire-stopped, and an interlinked fire detection and alarm system covers the rooms, landings and kitchen. The LACORS housing fire safety guidance is the recognised national guide for fire safety in existing housing, alongside Part B of the building regulations for any structural or layout change.

Sound and energy matter for a let that works. Sound insulation between letting rooms and between floors reduces complaints in a Woolwich house with several households under one roof. On energy, where the house is let in a way that needs an EPC, GOV.UK says that since 1 April 2018 private landlords may not let domestic properties on new tenancies if the rating is F or G unless an exemption applies. Since 1 April 2020 continuing lets below E are barred too. We add loft and floor insulation, heating controls and low-energy lighting while rooms are stripped.

• Thumb-turn bedroom locks that open from inside without a key
• Existing HMOs upgraded to meet their licence conditions
• Snagging before the council's licence inspection

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 6 statistical areas in Woolwich. Counts rounded by the VOA.

When comparing hmo conversions in Woolwich with other work, it helps to read bathroom renovation in Woolwich, hmo conversions across Greenwich, bathroom fitting in London, kitchen fitting in London, our London hmo conversions page and Wet Room Guide.

Trusted HMO Conversions in Woolwich

An HMO conversion is judged twice: by building control and by the licensing officer, and a missed fire door or undersized room can delay tenants moving in. We plan the fire strategy, room sizes and bathrooms from the approved drawings, build in an order that lets the alarm and doors be tested before decoration, and keep every certificate in one file. The owner applies for planning and the licence. We give their agent the programme and method, and a written quotation after a survey, priced room by room.

• Kitchens and bathrooms counted against the council's amenity standard
• Registered in England, Companies House no. 14611254
• Every bedroom measured against the national minimum room sizes

Reviewed jobs near Woolwich

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

• Replace kitchen extractor hob, Woolwich, 27 Apr 2024 (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).