An HMO feasibility report costs from £355 at Fixed Fee Plans. It answers one question before you buy or pay for drawings: can this house be let as a house in multiple occupation, to how many people, and with what changes. We check planning, licensing and the rooms themselves, and tell you in writing.
Three different sets of rules decide it, held by two different teams at the council, and a listing tells you about none of them. That is why landlords buy houses that cannot take the number of tenants they planned for.
Does my house need planning permission to become an HMO?
For a small HMO, often not. Class C4 covers a dwellinghouse used by not more than six residents as an HMO, and national rules let a family house change to C4 without an application. But a council can remove that right with an Article 4 direction, under article 4 of the General Permitted Development Order, and many London councils have done so across all or part of their area. A large HMO, for seven or more residents, is outside class C4 and needs permission everywhere.
So the address matters more than the house. We read the council's own direction and its HMO policy, and the planning history, and say which route applies.
Which licence will the HMO need?
At least the mandatory one if five or more people in two or more households will live there, under the 2018 Prescribed Description Order. Many councils go further: section 56 of the Housing Act 2004 lets them license smaller HMOs through an additional scheme, and some license every privately rented home in part of the borough through a selective scheme. Each scheme has its own fee, conditions and standards, which the report sets out for your street.
Are the bedrooms big enough?
We measure each one from the plans. A licensed HMO's bedroom for one adult must be at least 6.51 square metres, one for two adults at least 10.22 square metres, and no room under 4.64 square metres may be slept in, under the 2018 licensing regulations. Councils add their own standards for kitchens, bathrooms and shared space. The report names each room that passes, each that fails, and what would fix it.
What happens after the report?
If the answer is yes, our HMO drawings turn it into the planning or licensing layout, our licence pack prepares the floor plans the licence application asks for, and our fire strategy plan shows escape routes and detection. If you are weighing flats instead, the house to flats feasibility report answers that question the same way.
Our fee is from £355, worked from plans and the council's records. A visit to measure the house is priced on top when there are no reliable plans, and we say so before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
Can I check HMO feasibility before I buy?
Yes. That is what the report is for. We work from the listing's floor plans and the council's records, so you can decide before exchange.
What if the council has an Article 4 direction for HMOs?
Then changing a family house to a small HMO needs planning permission, and the council's HMO policy decides whether it would be granted. The report reads that policy for your address.
Does the report replace the council's licence inspection?
No. The council inspects and decides on the licence. The report tells you in advance what it will look for.
Is the fee credited if I go ahead?
Yes, against our HMO drawings if you instruct us for the same property.
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