Towcester sits within West Northamptonshire Council, which sets its own HMO standards for room sizes, kitchens and bathrooms. Our designs start from those standards, so the layout we price is designed to meet the council's licensing requirements.
Our team is based in Great Barr, Birmingham, about 49 miles from Towcester. That keeps survey visits, site meetings and follow-up inspections easy to arrange.
HMO rules in West Northamptonshire Council
| Rule | West Northamptonshire Council |
|---|---|
| Mandatory HMO licence (5+ people) | In force everywhere in England |
| Additional HMO licensing | In part of the area Parts of Northampton and Daventry, 24 February 2025 to 23 February 2030 |
| Selective licensing | None found |
| Article 4 direction for small HMOs | In part of the area The whole former Northampton borough, plus the Boughton Rise development |
Checked October 2026 against West Northamptonshire Council's HMO licensing page. Schemes change, so we confirm the position for your address before any work starts.
West Northamptonshire Council's Article 4 direction covers the whole former Northampton borough, not Towcester, so changing a family house here into a small HMO is usually permitted development. Seven or more occupants always needs planning permission. West Northamptonshire Council's additional licensing covers parts of Northampton and Daventry, which doesn't include Towcester, so the mandatory licence for five or more people is the main one to plan for there.
How we handle HMO loft conversion work in Towcester
Plenty of houses have roof space that could hold extra bedrooms, but in Towcester we always measure the headroom first, because floor under a 1.5 m ceiling does not count towards room size. That tells you how many rooms the loft can really add.
A loft room usually creates a third storey, so we plan the protected escape route and alarm upgrades for the whole Towcester house, not just the new floor. We also check the occupant count, because seven or more residents needs planning permission anywhere in Northamptonshire.
- New staircase and protected escape route
- Headroom survey and countable floor area calculation
- Planning and permitted development position checked first
- Structural design and building control application
- Alarm extended and doors upgraded on lower floors
Loft conversions for HMOs near Towcester
- Northampton 9.2 miles
- Brackley 9.7 miles
- Daventry 11.2 miles
- Wellingborough 17.1 miles
- Rushden 19.7 miles
- Rugby 20.1 miles