HMO & SA

I work on a variety of HMO and serviced-accommodation projects, from the conversion of family houses to large commercial buildings undergoing a planning change of use. For projects outside of Worthing and Brighton and Hove I can work from measured survey drawings provided by surveyors or architects as it is not always cost effective for me to carry out a measured survey on properties that area a considerable distance away from Worthing.

For smaller properties (up to six residents) Permitted Development rights allow a change from C3 to C4 Use Class (dependent on there not being an Article 4 Direction in place). In these cases I always recommend to clients that we submit an application for a Lawful Development Certificate to ensure that the HMO use is formalised. This is an important proof of lawful use should they choose to borrow against the property or sell it. Where an Article 4 Direction is in place then Permitted Development rights are removed and planning consent is required to convert a family home C3(a) to C4.

HMOs of six or more residents have the "sui generis" Use Class and planning consent is required for any change of use to these larger HMOs.

With the advent on 1st October 2018 of Mandatory Licensing of all HMOs with two or more separate households, regardless of the number of storeys, minimum room sizes will apply for bedrooms. It is important that these room sizes are taken into account in any new development now, so that the property is ready for licensing. All the schemes I work on are designed to meet these minimum standards, and also to meet locally prescribed standards, which often exceed those of the national legislation in some areas.

HMO licensing is NOT the same as planning consent or Building Regulations consent. These are three separate areas of legislation with separate applications and approvals processes. As noted above, planning consent is often required in order to create an HMO. Building Regulations consent will always be required for any construction work. In addition, developers should be aware of their health and safety responsibilities under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.

This project involved the conversion of a large house into an HMO. Ground-floor extensions were constructed to accommodate an additional bedroom and a plant room. Six of the bedrooms have en-suite shower rooms, and the remaining three bedrooms share a shower room. The house has a large shared kitchen with dining area, and a shared lounge.

We were able to provide off-street parking for one car, with unrestricted on-street parking available immediately outside the property. The design challenge was dividing up the space to provide rooms that meet the DASH standards, whilst at the same time dealing with the alterations carried out by the previous owner, who had designed the interior to resemble a baronial hall.

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