HMO conversion drawings in Hillingdon

The neighbourhood share tests

Inside the direction area, the council applies percentage limits: 20% / 10% CA / 15% within 100 m. In words, a C3 to HMO change needs fewer than a fifth of properties in the neighbourhood to be HMOs, a tenth where the street is a conservation area, and a further share within a short distance either side of your house. Student-exempt homes are counted along with HMOs.

That is a count, not a judgement, so we can do most of it before the survey. We list the addresses the council records as HMOs or student-exempt, plot them against your frontage and report the shares, noting where the register is out of date. Where the count is close to a limit, we say so and talk through the options.

The percentage limits come from Local Plan Part 2, the Development Management document, so we cite the exact policy in the design statement.

What Hillingdon sees in a drawing set

We draw floors as existing and proposed, with every bedroom area marked, shared kitchens and bathrooms, escape routes and alarm positions. Bedrooms are tested against the national sleeping-room minimums: Sleeping rooms: at least 6.51 m² (one person over 10), 10.22 m² (two persons over 10), 4.64 m² (child under 10); floor under 1.5 m ceiling height not counted.

Fire detection is drawn too: All dwellings: fire detection and alarm system minimum Grade D2 Category LD3 (BS 5839-6), mains-operated smoke alarms to BS EN 14604. Larger households also need a licence: Licence required for an HMO occupied by 5 or more persons in 2 or more households. Licensing runs separately from planning and the council's team can ask for more than the national minimum.

Where the plot allows, we also show bin storage and cycle parking, so the shared house does not spill into the street.

Planning figures for Hillingdon

Hillingdon decided 367 minor applications in the latest year and granted 68.7 per cent, with 89.4 per cent decided in time. The householder grant rate was higher, at 90.2 per cent of 1,147 decisions.

68.9 per cent of Hillingdon households live in a house or bungalow, and 56.6 per cent own their home. Green Belt covers 42 per cent of the borough, so any rear extension to add rooms needs checking against it first.

There are 150 Article 4 directions of all kinds, 33 conservation areas and 731 tree preservation orders. Historic England lists 436 buildings here and 45 entries are on the Heritage at Risk Register.

Levy, price and next steps

Hillingdon charges £160.43/m² (Residential dwelling houses C3, borough-wide) under its schedule. The Mayoral levy is band 2, indexed to £72.73 per square metre for permissions granted this year. Confirm whether a conversion with no new floor area triggers either one.

The application is built on planning drawings in Hillingdon, and a certificate route is covered by lawful development certificates in Hillingdon. For self-contained flats rather than shared rooms, see flat conversion drawings in Hillingdon.

We also draw HMO conversions in Spelthorne, and the borough overview is architectural drawings in Hillingdon.

Earlier decisions on your road are public at http://planning.hillingdon.gov.uk/OcellaWeb/planningSearch, and we read them with the ward check. After the survey we draw layouts in plan and 3D, you choose one in writing, and a second chartered technologist checks every sheet before issue. If officers ask for changes we redraw at no charge until approval, without promising the decision.