HMO conversions, from the appraisal to the licence on the wall

What actually goes wrong on an HMO

• The licence application needs room sizes nobody wrote down properly.
• Article 4 turns a permitted conversion into a full application after you have offered.
• Fire doors and emergency lighting get priced late and blow the contingency.
• The refinance valuation arrives before the snagging is finished.

The HMO route through BRICKS

1. 1Deal. The lead goes on the pipeline with the address, the agent and the asking price.
2. 2Appraisal. Room count, achievable room rates, stress-tested finance costs and cash left in, rather than a headline yield.
3. 3Planning and licensing. A postcode check flags Article 4 and conservation area constraints, and the licensing tasks sit on the project with dates against them.
4. 4Refurbishment. A schedule of works built room by room from the walkthrough survey.
5. 5Contractors. Trades, quotes and who is on site which week, against the same budget.
6. 6Compliance. EICR, gas safety and licence dates tracked on the portfolio wall with traffic lights.
7. 7Refinance. The cost record and the works history in one place when the valuer asks.
8. 8Hold. The property stays on the portfolio wall with its compliance dates running.

Room-level works, not a single line called refurb

The walkthrough survey goes room by room, which is how an HMO is actually priced. What comes out is a schedule of works you can send to three builders, and a budget you can hold them to once the job starts.

Compliance dates that chase you

Licence renewals, EICRs and gas certificates sit against the property rather than in a diary. When one is close, the portfolio wall says so.

Common questions

Where to go next