Southwark HMO Room Sizes and Amenity Standards: Minimum Requirements

National Minimums vs Southwark's HMO Standards

There are two layers of room size rules for HMOs in Southwark. The national statutory minimums set the floor for each age and occupancy category; any room under 4.64 m² cannot be used as sleeping accommodation. Southwark's local space standards set higher requirements that apply to licensed HMOs.

National statutory minimums (set by the 2018 Mandatory Conditions of Licences Regulations):

• Single occupant (one person aged 10 or over): 6.51 m²
• Two occupants (both aged 10 or over): 10.22 m²
• Child under 10: 4.64 m²

Southwark's local targets:

• Single bedroom (with access to a separate shared kitchen): 10 m²
• Double bedroom (two occupants aged 10+): 14 m²
• Bedsit (single, with internal cooking): 14 m²
• Bedsit (double, with internal cooking): 18.5 m²

A bedroom measuring 7 m² meets the national legal minimum for a single occupant, but falls below Southwark's 10 m² standard for a room with a separate kitchen. Southwark's licence conditions require a licensed property to meet its HMO standards within 18 months; the licence's occupancy limits and conditions determine whether the room can be used.

Ceiling Height Rule

Floor area where the ceiling height is below 1.5 metres does not count toward the minimum. In attic conversions and rooms with sloped ceilings, only the usable area above 1.5 m contributes to the room size calculation. A bedroom that measures 9 m² total but has 3 m² under a sloped ceiling below 1.5 m is treated as 6 m² — below the national minimum for a single adult.

Kitchen Standards

Southwark's shared-kitchen floor-area standard is 5.5 m² plus 1 m² for each additional person sharing the kitchen: 7.5 m² for three people, 8.5 m² for four, and 9.5 m² for five. A set of kitchen facilities for up to five occupants includes:

• A minimum of four cooking rings (hob)
• An oven and grill
• A sink with running hot and cold water
• Food preparation work surface
• Dry food storage

Provide one set of kitchen facilities for every five occupants. Where the kitchen is large enough, two sets may be installed in one kitchen for up to ten people; a kitchen for ten users must be at least 14.5 m².

Bathroom and Toilet Requirements

Where exclusive facilities cannot be provided, Southwark's standard is one bathroom or shower room, one separate toilet and one wash hand basin for every five occupants. Bathrooms and toilets must be in separate rooms.

Every bathroom and toilet must have a working lock, adequate ventilation and hot and cold water supply.

How Measurements Are Assessed

During the application, you submit scale floor plans showing room dimensions. The council may verify these during a physical inspection. Measure from the internal wall faces (not including skirting boards) and note any areas where ceiling height drops below 1.5 m.

Floor plans do not need to be drawn by a professional, but they must be to scale and clearly show each room's dimensions in square metres, window positions and alarm locations.

If an inspection reveals that a bedroom has been overstated on the application floor plan, the council can reduce the maximum occupancy on the licence, require the room to be taken out of lettable use, or treat it as a breach of licence conditions.

For a room-by-room measurement tracker and the full space standards table, see the Southwark licensing guide.

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