Hounslow HMO Room Size Requirements and Floor Plan Standards
Room size is one of the most common reasons HMO licence applications run into trouble. Hounslow's standards go beyond the national statutory minimums, and measuring incorrectly can mean the council limits your permitted occupancy or rejects the application outright.
Statutory Minimum Bedroom Sizes
The national minimums under the Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018 are the absolute floor:
| Occupancy | National minimum |
|---|---|
| Single occupant (10 years or older) | 6.51 m² |
| Two occupants (10 years or older) | 10.22 m² |
| Child under 10 | 4.64 m² |
Any room used for sleeping that falls below these thresholds cannot be counted as a bedroom, and the council can set licence conditions restricting who sleeps where.
Hounslow's Local Standards
Hounslow applies its own higher standards depending on whether the property has a separate communal living room:
| Room type | With separate living space | Without separate living space |
|---|---|---|
| Single bedroom | 6.5–10.2 m² | 9–12 m² |
| Double bedroom | Over 10.2 m² | Over 12 m² |
| Bedroom with own kitchen facilities (single) | 10.5–14 m² | — |
| Bedroom with own kitchen facilities (double) | Over 14 m² | — |
The practical difference is significant. A room of 8 m² qualifies as a single bedroom if there is a separate lounge in the property, but fails the standard if the bedroom is also the tenant's only living space.
Ceiling Height Rules
Ceiling height must reach at least 2.14 metres over 75% of the room's floor area. Any area where the ceiling drops below 1.53 metres is excluded entirely from usable room size calculations. This particularly affects attic conversions and rooms with sloped ceilings — a large attic room might look spacious on paper but lose significant usable area once the ceiling-height exclusion is applied.
Rooms with bunk beds require a minimum floor-to-ceiling height of 2.5 metres throughout.
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Floor Plan Requirements
Floor plans submitted with a licence application must show:
- Internal room dimensions in square metres (not feet, not approximate)
- Clear labels for every room's intended use
- Fire door positions
- Smoke detector and heat detector locations
- Kitchen and bathroom facilities
If the council schedules an on-site inspection, it may cross-check these measurements. Inaccurate plans — whether optimistic rounding or simple measurement errors — can be flagged. If the actual room is smaller than the submitted plan shows, the council may reduce your permitted occupancy or require you to submit corrected plans before the licence is granted.
The £32 Per Room Measurement Service
If you cannot produce accurate scaled plans yourself, Hounslow Council offers a room measuring and sketch plan service at £32 per room. A council officer visits the property, takes the measurements and produces the plan. You can request this service after submitting your application by calling the housing service on 020 8583 6166.
For a five-bedroom HMO, that adds £160 to your application costs. Whether it is worth it depends on your confidence in your own measurements — given that the council may inspect, submitting plans you know are accurate from the start can avoid delays.
Kitchen and Sanitary Facility Standards
Room sizes are only part of the amenity picture. Hounslow also sets minimum standards for shared facilities:
Kitchens: at least 6.5 m² for up to five sharers, 11 m² for six to ten. Must include a cooker with four hobs, oven and grill; a sink with hot and cold water and integral drainer; fixed worktops (minimum 1,000 mm × 600 mm); dedicated electrical sockets; food storage cupboards (minimum 500 mm wide base unit per household); double worktop-height fridges with freezer space; and mechanical extraction fans.
Bathrooms and WCs: one bathroom plus one WC (can be combined) for up to four occupants. Five occupants need an additional separate WC with a wash hand basin. Six to ten occupants need two bathrooms and two WCs with at least one WC in a separate compartment.
Heating: fixed systems maintaining 21°C in bedrooms and bathrooms, 18°C in common parts when the external temperature is −1°C. Portable gas and oil heaters are prohibited.
Meeting these standards before you apply — not after the inspection flags them — saves time and avoids conditions being attached to your licence. The Hounslow Landlord Licensing Guide includes a room measurement tracker worksheet for recording dimensions and checking each room against Hounslow's local standards.
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