HMO conversion drawings in Orpington, BR6
Orpington sits in the London Borough of Bromley, so an HMO conversion at a BR6 address is judged by Bromley, and Article 4 directions are the first thing to check. DrawingsDirect, MCIAT chartered architectural technologists, draws HMO conversion plans from £895.
Fixed fee from £695 drawings + £200 survey (£895 total) · all prices
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Check Bromley's Article 4 directions before you draw anything
Our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform (bulk snapshot retrieved 19 Oct 2026) finds 108 Article 4 direction entries on the national register for Bromley, the borough that covers Orpington, and that register may be incomplete. A direction can remove a permitted right that would otherwise apply, and the change from a family home to a small HMO is one such right in some areas.
That makes the address the first question, not the layout. Find out whether a direction covers your road, then decide whether the conversion needs a planning application. Our guide to Article 4 directions in London explains how to look it up, and the guide on planning permission for an HMO takes you through the rest.
Floor areas the licensing rules measure
A licensed HMO must give each sleeping room at least 6.51 square metres for one person aged over 10, or 10.22 square metres for two people aged over 10 (Housing Act 2004, Schedule 4, paragraph 1A, added by the 2018 HMO licensing regulations, on legislation.gov.uk).
The room to test first is the smallest bedroom, often a box room. We measure before we draw. If you need a survey of the existing house, see our measured building survey service, and our floor plans service for the proposed layout.
The same national dataset holds 73 conservation-area entries for Bromley; to see whether a BR6 house falls inside one, use Bromley Council's conservation area map.
How Bromley decides and how often it is overturned
Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2, counts 2,314 planning decisions in Bromley over the four quarters from 2025 Q3 to 2026 Q2.
Our analysis of the Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (Casework Database 2609, released 1 Oct 2026) finds 1,145 Bromley planning appeals decided between 2021 and 2026, with 34% allowed. That covers every kind of development, so it is not a prediction for an HMO, but it does show that a refusal can be reversed. A better plan is a first submission that answers the officer's likely questions.
73 national-register conservation-area entries across Bromley
The same national dataset holds 73 conservation-area entries for Bromley; to see whether a BR6 house falls inside one, use Bromley Council's conservation area map. If the property is in one, window and door changes on the street side receive closer scrutiny, so we draw the front elevation as it is and show any change plainly.
Our guide to conservation area extension rules covers what changes inside a designated area.
Timing and fee
Where an application is needed and the scheme is not major development, the council has 8 weeks beginning the day after it receives it (Development Management Procedure Order 2015, article 34(2)(b)).
Our fixed fee for HMO conversion drawings starts from £895. See the pricing page and the HMO conversion drawings service page, then use the quote form here with your address and the bedroom count you have in mind.
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 |
| 2,314 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 1,145 | Our analysis of Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026 (Casework Database 2609)) | www.gov.uk |
| 34% | Our analysis of Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026 (Casework Database 2609)) | www.gov.uk |
| 108 | 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 |
| 73 | 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
Is Orpington in Bromley for planning purposes?
How do I find out if an Article 4 direction covers my road?
What area must a double bedroom have in an HMO?
Photographs: Tim Green from Bradford (CC BY 2.0); David Howard (CC BY-SA 2.0).
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