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Change of Use for Homeowners: Working From Home, HMOs and Short Lets

Using your home differently — working from it, letting rooms, or short-letting it — can cross into a change of use that needs planning permission. This guide sets out where the lines fall for London homeowners.

Last updated 5 min read

What "change of use" means

Planning control applies not just to building work but to how a property is used. Homes sit in use class C3 — a dwellinghouse for a single person, a couple or a family. A material change away from that use — one that changes the character of the property or its effect on the area — can need planning permission in its own right, even if you build nothing. Whether a change is "material" is a question of fact and degree, which is why the answer depends on what you actually do.

Working from home

Working from home usually needs no planning permission, provided the property remains, in the round, a home. If the business use does not change the character of the house — no significant increase in visitors or traffic, no signage, no disturbance to neighbours, no employees coming and going — there is generally no material change of use. It tips into needing permission when the business becomes the primary use, or generates the kind of activity a residential street would not normally see.

Letting rooms: small HMOs

Sharing a house with between three and six unrelated people as a house in multiple occupation is use class C4. Nationally, changing from a family home (C3) to a small HMO (C4) is permitted development — but many London boroughs have made Article 4 directions removing that right, so in those areas a small HMO needs planning permission. A larger HMO, occupied by seven or more people, falls outside C4 and always needs planning permission. HMO licensing under housing law is a separate requirement again.

Short lets and holiday lets

In Greater London there is a specific rule: you may short-let a whole home for up to 90 nights in a calendar year without planning permission, provided you remain liable for council tax on it. Letting it out beyond 90 nights is treated as a material change of use and needs permission. This is distinct from the freeholder and lease considerations that usually apply to a flat, and from the tax and safety rules that come with letting.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need planning permission to work from home?

Usually not, as long as the property remains primarily a home. Permission can be needed if the business becomes the main use or changes the character of the house — significant visitors or traffic, signage, employees or disturbance to neighbours.

What is a C4 HMO?

Use class C4 is a house in multiple occupation shared by between three and six unrelated people. A home occupied by a single person, a couple or a family is use class C3.

Is changing a house to a small HMO permitted development?

Nationally, changing from C3 to a small C4 HMO is permitted development, but many London boroughs have Article 4 directions removing that right, so in those areas planning permission is required. A larger HMO of seven or more people always needs permission.

Do I need permission to short-let my London home?

In Greater London you can short-let a whole home for up to 90 nights a year without planning permission, as long as you remain liable for council tax on it. Beyond 90 nights it is a material change of use requiring permission, and lease and freeholder terms usually apply as well.

Is running a business from home a change of use?

Only if it is a material change — one that alters the character of the property or its impact on the area. Modest home working within a home that stays a home generally is not.

Do I need permission to convert my house into flats?

Yes — that is always a full planning application, and is covered in our separate guide on converting a house into flats. It is a different question from the changes of use covered here.

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