Two Victorian terraced houses on a London street, one painted white and one in yellow stock brick, with bay windows
Floor plan drawings, pencil sketches of a house, a scale rule and a protractor spread across a desk
Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels

HMO drawings · London Borough of Waltham Forest

HMO drawings in Waltham Forest, from £945 fixed

Waltham Forest needs planning permission for any change from a house to a small HMO, has done since 16 September 2014, and refuses homes under 124 square metres, in 14 southern wards or where conversions already exceed half a street. We check all three before drawing, then draw to the council's tests.

HMO drawingsfrom £795 drawings + £150 survey (£945 total)
Council fee£610
Get your fixed feeFFP-01 · Rev A
Our fixed fee£795
Council fee, paid to your council£548
Our fee + council fee£1,343
CoverageAll 33 boroughs

Householder application fee, paid to your council at submission.

Plus the Planning Portal's own charge if the application goes through the Portal: up to £149 including VAT, depending on the application type, and some types have none (source).

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Starts at£150
Boroughs33/33
Stages5

Photo: Huy Phan / Pexels

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Two Victorian terraced houses on a London street, one painted white and one in yellow stock brick, with bay windows
A London terrace. Photo: Huy Phan / Pexels.

What Waltham Forest Council asks of a HMO conversion

From the council's Local Article 4 directions; Planning permission and HMOs; HMO FAQs (June 2020) (adopted borough-wide direction in force from 16 September 2014; Article 4 page updated 2 September 2026).

  • Waltham Forest's Article 4 page says an Article 4 direction is in place across the borough, so planning permission is needed to change a dwelling house (C3) to a small HMO (C4), which is normally permitted development nationally. (source, checked 25 October 2026)
  • The council's HMO planning page says any HMO of three to six people created after 16 September 2014 must have planning consent, that HMOs for seven or more people always needed authorisation, and that an owner may be able to show established use. (source, checked 25 October 2026)
  • Where an HMO is unauthorised, the council says it will likely grant a licence with a reduced term, usually one year, which the landlord must use to fix the breach or get consent. (source, checked 25 October 2026)
  • The council's June 2020 FAQ quotes Policy DM6: no conversion to flats or an HMO where the home has under 124 square metres of original floor space, is in one of 14 restricted wards in the south of the borough, over-concentrates conversions in a street (generally over 50 per cent of properties) or cannot park off street. (source, checked 25 October 2026)
  • The same FAQ quotes a draft 2019 policy that would make larger HMO conversions car free, with cycle parking, good refuse storage, outdoor space and a public transport accessibility level of 3 or above, and says it gains weight as the plan progresses. (source, checked 25 October 2026)

What Waltham Forest HMO conversion drawings have to show

Waltham Forest's first test is arithmetic, so the survey comes first: gross original internal floor area (as originally built) against the 124 square metre line, and the ward against the council's list of 14 restricted wards. A house under the line, or in a restricted ward, is not worth drawing for an HMO, and we tell you before you pay for the full set.

Where the house qualifies, the plans show the layout against the DM6 tests: off-street parking spaces, bin and cycle storage, noise insulation between rooms and the original architecture retained on the elevations. We also count the neighbouring conversions on the street, since the council treats more than half as over-concentration, and set out the licence position alongside the planning one.

PS2 · at a glance

Waltham Forest: 771 householder decisions

Waltham Forest
Approvals, prior approvals included81.5%

628 of 771 granted. London: 85.8%.

Decided within 8 weeks90.1%

585 of 649 applications, prior approvals excluded.

Source: MHCLG PS2, 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. Dark tick: London.
An open-plan living room with an exposed brick wall, a sofa and a dining table under pendant lights
An open-plan ground floor: knocking rooms together is where a beam, and structural calculations, come in. Photo: Max Vakhtbovych / Pexels.

What it costs in Waltham Forest

  • HMO drawings: from £795 drawings + £150 survey (£945 total), plus £610 to Waltham Forest Council.
  • Where a change of use application is required.

HMO drawings across London · Waltham Forest planning rules · every price

Answers

Waltham Forest HMO conversion questions

Do I need planning permission for an HMO in Waltham Forest?
Yes. The council's Article 4 direction covers the whole borough, so a change from a house to a small HMO of three to six people needs planning permission, and any such HMO created after 16 September 2014 must have consent. Seven or more people always needed authorisation, and established use can sometimes be shown.
What size of house can Waltham Forest convert to an HMO?
The council's June 2020 FAQ quotes Policy DM6, which refuses conversions of homes with under 124 square metres of gross original internal floor space, those in 14 restricted southern wards, those over-concentrating conversions in a street and those that cannot park off street. We measure the floor area first.
What happens to an unauthorised HMO licence in Waltham Forest?
Waltham Forest says it takes the planning status into account when licensing, and for unauthorised use it will likely grant a licence with a reduced term, usually one year. In that time the landlord must fix the breach, by returning the property to family use or getting the necessary planning consent.

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02
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£175
03
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£225
04
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05
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Total, planning application£795
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