HMO licence plans for Southwark, with room sizes in square metres on every floor
Southwark's online application asks for floor plans of the property: a basic layout of each floor with the size of each room in square metres. Its additional scheme covers shared houses of up to four people as well as larger HMOs. We draw those plans and a room schedule for a fixed £495.
Fixed fee from £495 · all prices
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What Southwark asks you to upload
The council's apply for a private rented property licence page, last updated on 10 March 2026, lists what it needs. The first item is floor plans of the property: a basic layout of each floor with room sizes, in square metres, for each room. After that come the accreditation certificate if you have one, the electrical safety certificate, the gas safety certificate if relevant, a fire risk assessment for an HMO, the fire alarm certificate, tenancy agreements and evidence of Article 4 planning consent where it applies.
That first line is a specific instruction, and the specific part is the square metres. A plan with no sizes does not match what the council lists.
HMO Licence Plans in Southwark
from £495
Every price is the full fixed fee you pay. No VAT is charged. Council application fees are paid to the council separately.
What you get
- A layout of each floor with the size of every room in square metres
- Rooms labelled by use, including shared kitchens, bathrooms and WCs
- A schedule of bedroom areas against the national minimum sizes
- Doors, stairs and escape routes drawn clearly
- A PDF to upload with the fire risk assessment and certificates
- A short note of rooms close to a minimum
- Find your licence
Mandatory, additional or selective, depending on tenants and the street.
- Measure each floor
Room sizes in square metres come from a measured survey.
- Draw each floor
A basic layout of each floor, rooms labelled.
- Schedule the bedrooms
Each area set against its minimum.
- Upload and pay Part A
Plans go in with the certificates and the fire risk assessment.
Which licence your house needs
The council's additional licensing page says additional licensing covers HMOs let to a maximum of four people with shared bathrooms or kitchens, section 257 HMOs and flats in multiple occupation in purpose-built blocks of three or more flats. Mandatory licensing covers the larger ones.
The fees page lists a section 257 HMO licence at £0. If your building is a converted block that fails the 1991 Building Regulations standard, that is worth checking before you pay for the wrong licence.
The national conditions say a bedroom for one person over 10 must be at least 6.51 square metres, and a room below 4.64 square metres cannot be used for sleeping.
The fees, before and after 1 April 2026
On the council's fees page an additional licence is £1,365.10 in total (Part A £969.20, Part B £395.90), rising to £1,433 after 1 April 2026 (£1,017.50 and £415.50). A selective licence is £945 with no change. A mandatory licence is £1,575 for the first five lettings, £1,653.50 after 1 April 2026, with a per-letting charge above five.
Paper applications cost an extra £171.20, or £179.70 after 1 April 2026. Gold Standard Charter landlords get a 50% discount on Part B. The council says Part A covers processing and is refunded only in exceptional circumstances, and that it does not refund fees if the property no longer needs the licence. The council's fees are paid to the council and are separate from ours.
Room sizes behind the schedule
The national conditions say a bedroom for one person over 10 must be at least 6.51 square metres, and a room below 4.64 square metres cannot be used for sleeping. Our schedule sets each bedroom's measured area against those figures on the same sheet as the plan, so the square-metre column Southwark asks for and the bedroom check come from one measurement.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| layout of each floor with room sizes in square metres | Southwark Council, Apply for a private rented property licence (last updated 10 March 2026): floor plans of the property, a basic layout of each floor with room sizes, in square metres, for each room | www.southwark.gov.uk |
| upload list | Southwark Council, Apply for a private rented property licence: documents needed also include electrical and gas safety certificates, a fire risk assessment for an HMO, a fire alarm certificate, tenancy agreements and Article 4 planning evidence where applicable | www.southwark.gov.uk |
| maximum of 4 people with shared facilities | Southwark Council, Additional licensing: covers HMOs let to a maximum of 4 people with shared bathrooms or kitchens, section 257 HMOs and flats in multiple occupation in purpose-built blocks of 3 or more flats | www.southwark.gov.uk |
| £1365.10, then £1433 | Southwark Council, Licence fees: additional licence total £1,365.10 (Part A £969.20, Part B £395.90), £1,433 after 1 April 2026 (£1,017.50 and £415.50) | www.southwark.gov.uk |
| £945 | Southwark Council, Licence fees: selective licence £945 (Part A £661.50, Part B £283.50), no change after 1 April 2026; section 257 licence £0 | www.southwark.gov.uk |
| £1575, then £1653.50 | Southwark Council, Licence fees: mandatory licence £1,575 (£1,653.50 after 1 April 2026) for the first 5 lettings plus £105 (£110) per letting above 5 | www.southwark.gov.uk |
| £171.20 paper; 50% off Part B for Gold Standard | Southwark Council, Licence fees: additional £171.20 (£179.70 after 1 April 2026) for paper applications; Gold Standard Charter landlords receive a 50% discount from Part B | www.southwark.gov.uk |
| Part A refunded only in exceptional circumstances | Southwark Council, Licence fees: Part A covers processing costs and is refunded only in exceptional circumstances; we do not refund fees if the property no longer needs the licence | www.southwark.gov.uk |
| 6.51 square metres | Licensing and Management of HMOs (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018, new Sch 4 para 1A(2)(a): one person aged over 10 years (source wording: "not less than 6.51 square metres") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 4.64 square metres | Same regulations, para 1A(2)(d): a room under this size may not be used for sleeping (source wording: "less than 4.64 square metres") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
Questions people ask
What does Southwark want on the floor plan?
Does a four-person shared house need a licence?
What is the additional licence fee?
Is the council fee in your price?
Photographs: Fernweh (CC BY-SA 2.0); Tim Green from Bradford (CC BY 2.0).
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