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Greenwich, London

HMO conversion drawings in Greenwich

In Royal Greenwich the answer to "do I need planning permission to let by the room?" is the same on every street, and so is the licensing answer. Our HMO conversion drawings in Greenwich start from £879, prepared by MCIAT chartered architectural technologists who measure the house before they draw it.

From £679 drawings + £200 survey (£879 total), no VAT to add

  • MCIAT chartered
  • £2m PI insured
  • LABC Partnered
  • Fixed fees, no VAT to add

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We use it to check conservation areas and constraints.
Pick the council that decides your application.
A few lines: what you want to build, and anything the council has already said.
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    Architectural model of a four-storey London stucco townhouse in its terrace, with a portico, area railings, sash windows, a cornice and chimney stacks
    The house as it stands: four storeys over a lower ground floor.Existing Proposed worksAn illustrative model, built for this page.

    How we work on hmo conversion drawings

    Seven steps from first call to approval.

    The same model cut through the middle: every floor, the stair, the chimney breasts, the new mansard, rear extension and basement in section
    Section through the model: every floor on one datum.

    1. Enquiry and constraints check

      We check the property against conservation areas, listed status, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, flood zone and planning history. We choose the right route and send a fixed quote.

    2. Measured survey

      We survey the house on one datum: rooms, levels, boundaries, drains, trees and the neighbours' windows that the 45° and 25° tests depend on.

    3. Design options

      We model the house in Revit and show you options in 3D and plan, with the planning strategy and the precedents in your street.

    4. Design frozen

      You choose an option in writing. Nothing changes after this without your say.

    5. Independent check

      A second chartered technologist checks every sheet against the council's validation checklist and the policy. A senior review signs it off before anything is submitted.

    6. Submission

      We prepare the forms, certificates, fee and documents and submit through the Planning Portal.

    7. Officer liaison

      We answer the planning officer and make any amendments within five working days, at no charge until approval.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

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    One planning rule for the whole borough

    The council's list of Article 4 directions shows the HMO direction covering the whole of Royal Greenwich. Its record reads: whole borough from 27 September 2018. The council's page says plainly that you need planning permission to convert a house into an HMO.

    A borough-wide rule is easier to plan around than a patchwork. There is no ward to check, and no question of which side of a boundary the house sits. The questions that remain are about the case: the layout, the street and the size of the household.

    The direction does not reach back. A shared house that was lawfully established earlier is on a different footing, and we gather the evidence for that before you commit.

    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

    Local figures for Greenwich

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    The Article 4 direction on HMOs was made in September 2017 and came into force on 27 September 2018 across the whole of Royal Greenwich; the council states that you need planning permission to convert a house into an HMO.whole borough from 27 September 2018—royalgreenwich.gov.uk, Council page: Areas with extra planning restrictions (Article 4 directions), HMO direction entry
    An additional HMO licensing scheme came into effect across Royal Greenwich on 1 January 2024 for properties with three or more residents in separate households sharing a kitchen, bathroom or toilet; mandatory licensing applies at five or more people.borough-wide from 1 January 2024—royalgreenwich.gov.uk, Council news item on the new additional scheme (2024) and HMO licensing page, article text
    Households living in a house48.4 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Minor application decisions396 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications granted79.3 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications decided in time92.7 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Conservation areas23 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries540 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Mayoral CIL charging band3 MCIL2 charging band (1-3)—london.gov.uk
    Borough CIL residential rate£157.48/m² (residential under 10 units, borough-wide); £157.48/m² (10+ units, Zone 1); £100.79/m² (10+ units, Zone 2)2026 indexed rate (1 Jan–31 Dec 2026); schedule rates £150 / £150 / £96 (2024)royalgreenwich.gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Councils bordering Greenwich
    Building regulations, layer by layerPart A: structure: Approved Document A: Structure, 2004 edition incorporating 2004, 2010 and 2013 amendments. Part B: fire safety: All dwellings: fire detection and alarm system minimum Grade D2 Category LD3 (BS 5839-6), mains-operated smoke alarms to BS EN 14604. Part L: insulation: New elements in existing dwellings, limiting U-values W/(m²·K): roof 0.15, wall 0.18, floor 0.18, windows 1.4 (or WER Band B), doors 1.4. Part K: stairs: 2.0 m clear headroom over stairs. Full plans application: Building control body must decide a full plans application within 5 weeks, or longer if agreed in writingPart A: structurePart B: fire safetyPart L: insulationPart K: stairsFull plans applicationABCDE

    Building regulations, layer by layer

    The Approved Documents that shape most house projects, from structure to the application itself.

    A · Part A: structure
    Approved Document A: Structure, 2004 edition incorporating 2004, 2010 and 2013 amendments
    B · Part B: fire safety
    All dwellings: fire detection and alarm system minimum Grade D2 Category LD3 (BS 5839-6), mains-operated smoke alarms to BS EN 14604
    C · Part L: insulation
    New elements in existing dwellings, limiting U-values W/(m²·K): roof 0.15, wall 0.18, floor 0.18, windows 1.4 (or WER Band B), doors 1.4
    D · Part K: stairs
    2.0 m clear headroom over stairs
    E · Full plans application
    Building control body must decide a full plans application within 5 weeks, or longer if agreed in writing

    Licensing covers most HMOs too

    The council runs mandatory and additional HMO licensing borough-wide, so most shared houses need a licence. Its news item records the additional scheme as borough-wide from 1 January 2024, for properties with three or more residents in separate households sharing a kitchen, bathroom or toilet.

    The council has also been consulting on widening selective licensing to more wards, so a house let to a single family can be caught by a different scheme again. Licensing is a separate application with its own fee, and our HMO licence application pack covers it.

    One set of measured drawings serves both applications, which is the saving: you survey once and draw once.

    What the planning drawings contain

    The application needs the existing and proposed plans, a schedule of room sizes, the shared facilities, escape routes and storage. We show the garden and the bins, because a shared house produces more refuse than a family and officers look for it.

    Greenwich has 48.4 per cent of households in houses and a good deal of Victorian and interwar terrace. Typically the question is how to fit a protected stair and a second set of facilities without losing the best bedroom.

    If bedrooms must be gained, see loft conversion drawings in Greenwich and rear extension drawings in Greenwich.

    The council's decision record

    A new HMO is a minor application. Greenwich decided 396 minor applications in the latest published year, granted 79.3 per cent and decided 92.7 per cent in time. The borough has 23 conservation areas and 540 list entries from Historic England.

    There is no Green Belt in the borough, according to the national data, so site constraints are mostly heritage and flood rather than openness.

    Levy and the other option

    The borough levy is stated as £157.48/m² (residential under 10 units, borough-wide); £157.48/m² (10+ units, Zone 1); £100.79/m² (10+ units, Zone 2). A conversion that creates no new floor area may fall outside it, whereas an extension may not. The Mayoral levy for the borough is in band 3.

    If you are weighing self-contained flats against rooms, compare flat conversion drawings in Greenwich. The overview page for the borough is architectural drawings in Greenwich.

    What you receive

    Building regulations section drawing showing the construction build-up
    Sample drawing. Building regulations section showing construction build-up for a building control check.
    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline
    Unit by unit
    Move up and down — the nearest units slide out.

    Other services in Greenwich

    HMO conversion drawings nearby

    Questions

    Do I need planning permission for an HMO in Greenwich?

    Yes. The council's record reads whole borough from 27 September 2018, and it states that converting a house to an HMO needs planning permission.

    Does a shared house in Greenwich need a licence?

    Most do. The additional scheme is borough-wide from 1 January 2024, and mandatory licensing covers larger HMOs.

    How many minor applications does Greenwich grant?

    79.3 per cent of 396 decisions in the latest published year.

    Sources and dates

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    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

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