HMO conversion drawings for Greenwich homes
To convert a house to an HMO in Greenwich, you need dimensioned floor plans that prove each sleeping room meets the national minimum area and that show how the conversion looks to the planning officer. DrawingsDirect, MCIAT chartered architectural technologists, prepares them from £895.
Fixed fee from £695 drawings + £200 survey (£895 total) · all prices
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Start with the smallest bedroom
In a licensed HMO a room below the minimum area cannot be used as sleeping accommodation for anyone over 10, so the smallest bedroom is the one that limits the plan. The Housing Act 2004 requires at least 6.51 square metres for one person aged over 10 and 10.22 square metres for two people aged over 10, in Schedule 4, paragraph 1A, which the 2018 licensing regulations added.
Before we draw a proposal, we test the layout against those two figures. If a room misses by a small margin, moving a partition or giving up a built-in wardrobe can fix it on paper; finding out after the walls are up is much harder to put right. Read the rule itself on legislation.gov.uk.
Greenwich planning decisions: volume and overturn rate
Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2, shows 1,389 planning decisions in Greenwich across the four quarters from 2025 Q3 to 2026 Q2.
On appeal, our analysis of the Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (Casework Database 2609, released 1 Oct 2026) counts 644 Greenwich planning appeals decided from 2021 to 2026, with 37% allowed. The figure covers all types of development. Read it as background on Greenwich, not as a forecast for an HMO; the stronger position is still a first submission that anticipates the objection.
Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2, shows 1,389 planning decisions in Greenwich across the four quarters from 2025 Q3 to 2026 Q2.
Planning permission, licensing and Building Regulations are separate
An HMO conversion can touch three regimes: planning (use class and any external changes), housing licensing (room sizes and amenities) and Building Regulations (fire separation, escape and ventilation). Our drawings support the first and third and give the figures the second asks for, and we explain how they differ in our guide to whether you need planning permission for an HMO.
When planning is required and the scheme is not major development, the council has 8 weeks starting the day after it receives the application (Development Management Procedure Order 2015, article 34(2)(b)). Fire and escape detail belongs with the Building Regulations drawings.
Greenwich conservation areas and the front elevation
Our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform (bulk snapshot retrieved 19 Oct 2026) finds 24 entries for Greenwich on the national conservation-area register; the Royal Borough's conservation area map confirms whether your house is in one. If your house is inside one, the officer will look at the street frontage, so a conversion that keeps the front elevation unchanged is simpler to support than one that adds new doors or windows.
Look at your address on the national dataset before you design. Our London planning guides cover the permitted-development side.
What you get and what it costs
Existing and proposed plans with every room dimensioned and its area stated, plus elevations and sections where the building changes. Our fee starts from £895 for HMO conversion drawings; the list is on the pricing page, and the service is described on the HMO conversion drawings page.
Send us the address, the number of bedrooms you want and any existing plans you hold, using the quote form below.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| 6.51 square metres | HMO Mandatory Conditions of Licences (England) Regs 2018 Sch 4 para 1A: minimum floor area of a room used as sleeping accommodation by one person aged over 10 (source wording: 6.51 square metres) | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 10.22 square metres | HMO Mandatory Conditions of Licences (England) Regs 2018 Sch 4 para 1A: minimum floor area of a room used as sleeping accommodation by two persons aged over 10 (source wording: 10.22 square metres) | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 8 weeks | DMPO 2015 art 34(2)(b): decision period for an application that is not major development (source wording: 8 weeks beginning with the day immediately following receipt) | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 1,389 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 644 | Our analysis of Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026 (Casework Database 2609)) | www.gov.uk |
| 37% | Our analysis of Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026 (Casework Database 2609)) | www.gov.uk |
| 24 | Our analysis of MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area and article-4-direction datasets (bulk snapshot retrieved 19 Oct 2026) | www.planning.data.gov.uk |
| £895 | DrawingsDirect starting fixed fee for HMO conversion drawings, from the published price list | drawingsdirect.co.uk |
Questions people ask
What is the minimum bedroom size for an HMO?
Are your drawings enough to apply for an HMO licence?
How long does Greenwich have to decide a planning application?
Photographs: Chris Whippet (CC BY-SA 2.0); Tim Green from Bradford (CC BY 2.0).
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