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Tower Hamlets, London

HMO conversion drawings in Tower Hamlets

A landlord buying a house in Tower Hamlets to let by the room meets two separate gates: planning permission and an HMO licence. Our HMO conversion drawings in Tower Hamlets start from £879 and are drawn to pass both, by MCIAT chartered architectural technologists who measure the house first.

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

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We use it to check conservation areas and constraints.
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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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    Two gates, one set of drawings

    Tower Hamlets removed the permitted development right to turn a family house into a small shared house. The direction was approved by the Mayor in Cabinet and is in force from 1 January 2021, for the area on the council's own Article 4 map. If your address sits inside it, a change to a small HMO needs a planning application, not a notification.

    The licence is a different decision made by a different team. The council has designated the whole borough for additional licensing, in force 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029. A licence does not grant planning permission, and permission does not replace a licence, so an investor who prices only one of them is under-budgeting.

    That is why we draw the layout once and test it against both. The same floor plan has to satisfy a planning officer reading the room schedule and a licensing officer reading the council's space tables.

    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

    Local figures for Tower Hamlets

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    The Article 4 direction removing the permitted development right to change a dwelling (C3) to a small HMO (C4) was approved by the Mayor in Cabinet on 29 January 2020 and came into force on 1 January 2021, for the area on the council's Article 4 Direction Implementation Area map.in force from 1 January 2021—towerhamlets.gov.uk, Council page: Article 4 Directions, HMO paragraph
    The council designated the whole borough for additional HMO licensing: privately let properties with three or more people in two or more households need a licence. The scheme is in force from 1 April 2024 until 31 March 2029.1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029—towerhamlets.gov.uk, Council page: Additional licensing, scheme summary
    Licensing bedroom minimums where the kitchen is in a separate room: 8.5 m2 for one person and 13 m2 for two; no room under 6.5 m2 counts as a sleeping room; ceiling height at least 2.14 m over 75% of the floor.8.5 m2 single; 13 m2 double—towerhamlets.gov.uk, Property Licensing Guidance for Landlords and Agents, Table 1, p.19
    A shared kitchen in a licensed HMO must be at least 7.5 m2 for four or five sharers (5.5 m2 for up to three; 9.5 m2 for six or seven), with one full set of cooking facilities per five people.7.5 m2 for 4 to 5 sharers—towerhamlets.gov.uk, Property Licensing Guidance for Landlords and Agents, Table 2, p.20
    Minor application decisions427 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications granted84.3 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications decided in time92.3 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Conservation areas59 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Borough CIL residential rate£335.33/m² (Zone 1); £179.64/m² (Zone 2); £59.88/m² (Zone 3)rate for planning permissions granted 1 January to 31 December 2026 (schedule rates £280 / £150 / £50)towerhamlets.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 Tower Hamlets
    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

    The room sizes the licensing team uses

    The council's landlord guidance sets the figures a licensed house is judged against. Where the kitchen is in a separate room, the bedroom minimums are 8.5 m2 single; 13 m2 double. Nothing below a stated floor area counts as a sleeping room at all, and the ceiling must reach a set height over most of the floor.

    Shared kitchens are sized by the number of sharers: the guidance asks for 7.5 m2 for 4 to 5 sharers, and one full set of cooking facilities for every five people. A seven-bed scheme therefore needs a second set of facilities, which changes the ground-floor plan before any bedroom is drawn.

    Tower Hamlets terraces are narrow. We measure each room on site, because a chimney breast or an en-suite takes floor area out of the count, and a bedroom that looks like it clears the minimum on an estate agent's plan often does not.

    What the planning drawings show

    The application set shows every floor as it is and as it will be let, with each bedroom's measured area marked, the shared kitchen and bathrooms, the escape route and the position of the alarms. We add a room schedule, so the officer can check sizes without a scale rule.

    Cycle storage and refuse storage are drawn too. In a dense borough these are the details that delay validation, and they are cheap to resolve at the drawing stage and slow to resolve after a request from the council.

    If the house is also being extended to gain rooms, the extension is drawn in the same set. See our rear extension drawings in Tower Hamlets for how those are handled, and our loft conversion drawings if the top floor is in play.

    How Tower Hamlets decides small schemes

    A shared house is normally decided as a minor application. In the latest published year the council decided 427 minor applications, granted 84.3 per cent of them and decided 92.3 per cent in time. Those are all minor schemes, not only HMOs, so treat them as the council's general pace rather than a forecast for your address.

    Heritage matters in the borough. It has 59 conservation areas and a long list of Article 4 directions of other kinds, so check whether your street carries a second direction on top of the HMO one before you offer on a house.

    Levy, licence and what to compare

    The borough charges a residential levy of £335.33/m² (Zone 1); £179.64/m² (Zone 2); £59.88/m² (Zone 3). A conversion that adds no new floor area may not trigger it, but an extension in the same scheme can, so we flag liability early in the next-steps note.

    If a self-contained layout looks better on yield than letting by the room, compare flat conversion drawings in Tower Hamlets. The licence application itself is a separate job that our HMO licence application pack covers. Neighbouring boroughs with their own rules are Newham and Southwark.

    Whatever you choose, we survey, draw plans and a 3D view, and a second chartered technologist checks every sheet before it is issued.

    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 Tower Hamlets

    HMO conversion drawings nearby

    Questions

    Do I need planning permission for a small HMO in Tower Hamlets?

    Inside the area on the council's Article 4 map, yes: the direction removes the permitted development right to change a dwelling to a small HMO, and it is in force from 1 January 2021.

    Does the whole borough need an HMO licence?

    The council has designated the whole borough for additional licensing, in force 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029. Larger HMOs fall under the national mandatory scheme.

    How big must a shared kitchen be?

    The council's guidance asks for 7.5 m2 for 4 to 5 sharers, and one full set of cooking facilities for every five people.

    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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