Professional HMO Floor Plans for Landlords and Estate Agents

Applying for an HMO licence and got stuck on the floor plan requirement? You’re not the first. Most councils won’t even look at your application without one, and if the drawing’s wrong, missing a fire door, or doesn’t match the room count you’ve declared, expect it bounced back with a request for revisions. That costs you weeks, sometimes longer if you’re mid-renewal with a deadline looming.

We’ve been doing this for years across London, Herts, Bucks and Beds, so we’ve seen most of what can go wrong. Converted terraces with a staircase in an odd spot, purpose-built blocks, six-bed shares where three tenants have knocked through a wall themselves — we measure what’s actually there, not what the old estate agent particulars say it should be. You get a plan built for your property, not a template with your address typed in.

What Is an HMO Floor Plan?

Technically, a House in Multiple Occupation is a property let to more than one household who share (or go without) something basic like a bathroom, toilet or kitchen. That covers the classic shared house, but it also stretches to buildings split into self-contained flats where a third or more are on short lets, or where the conversion doesn’t meet 1991 Building Regulation standards.

If you’re applying for an HMO licence — as an agent acting for a landlord, or as the landlord yourself — the council will almost always want a floor plan alongside the application. It needs to show the layout, the amenities, heating, washing and toilet facilities, and the fire safety kit, because that’s how the council decides whether the property can realistically house the number of people you’ve put on the form.

Here’s the thing most people don’t realise until it bites them: every borough does this slightly differently. Some London councils publish a detailed spec for exactly what the plan must include. Others just want something clear and to scale with rooms labelled. Hertfordshire, Bucks and Beds councils each have their own quirks too. We check what your specific council wants before we even book the survey, rather than sending you a generic drawing and hoping it sticks.

What Does an HMO Floor Plan Need to Show?

Legally, the plan has to give a clear picture of the layout and room dimensions. Beyond that, we mark up smoke and heat detectors, every door and fire door, windows, and escape routes — because that’s what most councils are actually checking for when the application lands on their desk.

On site, we go room by room with a laser measure rather than eyeballing it, and we note the staircases, built-in cupboards, and shared spaces like kitchens and bathrooms as we go. HMOs tend to throw up awkward layouts — a loft that’s been boxed off into two rooms, a landing that doesn’t quite match the plans the landlord was given when they bought the place — so we’re careful to draw what’s actually there rather than a tidied-up version. Back at the office, we draft it up properly, then check the measurements and labels before it goes anywhere near your inbox.

Common HMO Requirements to Be Aware Of

Every council sets its own rules, but a few things come up again and again:

1. Most authorities require a licence, and it’s usually triggered once you’re letting to 5 or more people across more than one household — though plenty of boroughs run additional or selective licensing schemes that kick in at a lower threshold than that. Worth a call to your local housing team before you assume you’re exempt.
2. Room sizes. There’s typically a minimum floor area per person, often somewhere around 70 sq ft (6.5 sq m), though the exact figure and how it’s calculated shifts from one council to the next.
3. Fire safety. Expect tighter rules than a standard rental — alarms, extinguishers, fire doors, and for bigger properties or anything three storeys plus, possibly dedicated escape routes or sprinklers.
4. Emergency exits. Escape routes need to be clear, signed properly, and staircases kept in decent condition. This is one of the first things an inspector will look at.
5. Enough bathrooms and kitchen facilities for the number of tenants — and yes, councils do check this against what’s shown on the floor plan, so the numbers need to line up.

Documents Landlords Typically Need for an HMO Licence Application

The floor plan is one piece of a bigger paperwork pile. Most councils will also ask for:

• Gas Safety Certificate
• Electrical Safety Certificate (EICR)
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
• Written Fire Risk Assessment
• Portable Appliance Test (PAT) Certificate
• HMO Floor Plan (Showing room sizes and Fire System)
• Standard DBS check

We also handle related compliance work if you’d rather not chase separate contractors for each one, including Fire Risk Assessment and Asbestos Survey.

Every floor plan we draw follows the RICS Code of Measuring Practice, and we’re fully insured. A lot of our landlord clients get us to do the Energy Performance Certificate at the same visit — saves booking two separate appointments and, usually, works out cheaper than doing it separately.

Rules do vary a fair bit by area, so it’s still worth a quick check with your local housing authority or fire department before you submit, just to make sure nothing’s changed since we last surveyed in your borough.

Why Choose Smart Property Service for Your HMO Floor Plan

Honestly, most of what we get right comes down to not cutting corners on the survey. We measure the whole property ourselves rather than pulling numbers from an old drawing or the estate agent listing, so what lands on the council’s desk actually matches the building.

We also work across a lot of boroughs at once, which means we’ve usually already dealt with whatever quirk your local authority has. If you’re managing more than one HMO across different councils, that experience tends to save people a fair amount of back-and-forth. And if a council does come back asking for a tweak — happens occasionally, plans get requested with extra detail sometimes — we’ll amend it and send it back, no extra charge.

For more information, please email info@smartpropertyservice.co.uk or call 01442 939006 or contact your local council.