Do HMOs need planning permission in City of London?

City of London has 1 active Article 4 direction in our records. Where an Article 4 direction applies, permitted development rights to convert a home (use class C3) to a small HMO (C4) can be removed, so a full planning application is required. Coverage varies — verify with the council before relying on this.

When does an HMO need a licence in City of London?

Nationally, a property let to 5 or more occupants forming 2 or more separate households and sharing a kitchen, bathroom or toilet must hold a mandatory HMO licence — this applies in every council in England, including City of London. Some councils also run additional or selective licensing schemes covering smaller HMOs; check the current schemes with City of London council.

What are the minimum room sizes for a licensed HMO?

A mandatory HMO licence enforces national minimum sleeping-room floor areas: 6.51 m² for one person aged over 10, 10.22 m² for two people over 10, and 4.64 m² for a child under 10. These are national statute and apply in City of London.

Astor Place · Borough Intelligence

City of London HMO & Article 4 planning

1150 applications in the last 12 months · Current to 24 September 2026 via the council's own planning portal. · Analysis updated 20 Sep 2026 · Low confidence

Grade – 1150 apps (12 mo)

Compare boroughs Portfolio

Astor analyst's read

City of London — 1,175 applications in 12 months; minimal HMO-specific regulation in our records.

Profile

Central London's financial core: ultra-dense commercial stock, daytime-only population, limited residential footprint.

Planning

One Article 4 direction in our records (non-HMO-classified); high application throughput suggests active development climate, though council stance unclear from data.

Deal angle

Insufficient data for a confident read. Bridging/HMO play unlikely in a primarily commercial zone with minimal residential base.

ASTOR UNDERWRITING UNIT // AI SYNTHESIS // VERIFY WITH COUNCIL BEFORE ACTING

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Map Article 4 zones (oxblood = HMO-related) · application pins · click for detail

1 Article 4 direction recorded for City of London, but their polygon geometry isn't published on planning.data.gov.uk yet — the directions below are real (sourced from the metadata feed) and only the map overlay is empty. Coverage will fill in as the LPA uploads boundary data.

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Investment Grade

A: select with confidence · B: selectable with discipline · C: case-by-case · D: avoid unless exceptional

Insufficient data for city_of_london (1152 apps, 775 decided).

97%

Approval Rate · 12-mo trend

11.6w

Avg Decision

1150

Apps (12 mo)

Council Profile

Planning stance Unknown — insufficient data

Decision speed Unknown

Article 4 directions (planning.data.gov.uk) 1 direction recorded — restrictions apply. Full breakdown ↓

Investment Assessment

HMO viability Unknown — see Article 4 status

Commercial conversion Unknown

Timing outlook by type

Householder

Data unavailable

Change of use

Data unavailable

Major development

Data unavailable

Prior approval

Data unavailable

Application types breakdown

Type	Count	Decided	Approval	Avg weeks	Risk	Investor notes
Other	677	480	98%	11.4	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
Discharge of Condition	104	45	100%	7.0	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
Advertisement / Signage	81	57	89%	14.4	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
Commercial / Retail / Food & Beverage	79	53	96%	13.2	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
Listed Building / Heritage	56	43	100%	12.0	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
HMO / House in Multiple Occupation	35	16	94%	9.6	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
Demolition	34	25	100%	10.7	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
Change of Use	21	18	89%	19.1	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
New Build Commercial / Industrial	21	12	100%	12.2	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
Telecommunications	14	5	100%	8.7	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
Residential Extension / Householder	9	7	71%	12.5	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
Lawful Development Certificate	9	7	100%	6.9	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
New Build Residential	7	3	100%	15.2	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
Prior Approval / Permitted Development	4	3	100%	4.1	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.
Tree Works	1	1	100%	20.0	unknown	Insufficient data for AI assessment.

Analyst notes & data quality

Run after more applications have been scraped and decided.

HMO Requirements in City of London

What it takes to run a House in Multiple Occupation in City of London — whether you need planning permission, the licence the property must hold, and the statutory minimum room sizes. Verify current details with the council before committing.

Full guides: HMO licensing in City of London ↗ · Article 4 directions ↗

01 · Planning permission

No HMO Article 4 in our records

No HMO Article 4 direction in our records for this borough. Where no direction applies, converting a home to a small HMO (C4, up to six occupants) is usually permitted development — but coverage can be incomplete, so verify with the council before relying on this.

See the full Article 4 picture below ↓

02 · Licence to operate

Mandatory HMO licence National

5 or more occupants forming 2 or more separate households

Any HMO occupied by five or more people making up two or more separate households (sharing a kitchen, bathroom or toilet) must hold a mandatory HMO licence. This applies in every council in England, regardless of the number of storeys.

No Additional or Selective licensing scheme in our records for City of London. Many boroughs operate schemes that extend licensing to smaller HMOs or all rented homes, and these change on five-year cycles — check the council's current designation via the gov.uk licence finder ↗.

03 · Minimum room sizes

One person aged over 10	6.51 m²
Two people aged over 10	10.22 m²
One person aged under 10	4.64 m²
Any sleeping room	≥ 4.64 m²

Kitchen, bathroom & WC standards

Licensed HMOs must provide adequate, well-located cooking, washing and toilet facilities for the number of occupants, plus safe gas/electrics, working fire detection and proper waste storage. The exact ratios (occupants per bathroom, per WC, kitchen size) are set by each council in its own HMO amenity standards — confirm the figures with the borough before committing to a scheme.

Minimum room sizes and the mandatory-licensing threshold are national law (Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018), sourced under the Open Government Licence v3 — they apply in every council. Licensing designations shown are those in our records; verify the current position and exact amenity standards with City of London Council before relying on this. gov.uk: HMO licences ↗

Article 4 Directions in City of London planning.data.gov.uk

– No major restrictions identified from available data.

Other Restrictions (1)

Check the direction document to confirm the geographic extent.

City of London Article 4 Direction ↗

ASTOR UNDERWRITING UNIT // CITY OF LONDON // DATA SYNC: ACTIVE // PORTAL: VERIFIED // ANALYSIS: 20 SEP 2026

City of London HMO & Article 4 planning

See the full picture for City of London

HMO Requirements in City of London

Article 4 Directions in City of London planning.data.gov.uk