By Stuart Bradley, Branch Manager · 6 minute read
The biggest difference between two Cambridge HMOs charging the same rent per room usually isn’t the postcode; it’s whether the property was configured properly in the first place. Room sizes, how couples are accommodated, and whether the kitchen and bathrooms genuinely support the number of people living there all move the numbers more than most landlords expect. This guide covers how to get a Cambridge HMO working properly and profitably, without cutting corners on the standards.
This follows on from our guide to HMO licensing in Cambridge, which covers whether you need a licence at all.
Two houses, same size, different income
Location aside, two Cambridge HMOs, same number of bedrooms, can generate different returns – a disparity that almost always comes down to property configuration rather than location. It’s usually about room configuration, how well the kitchen and bathrooms serve the number of people living there, and whether the layout was planned around what actually attracts good tenants, rather than around fitting in as many beds as the floor plan technically allows.
None of what follows is about finding a loophole. It’s about understanding the standards properly – room sizes, facility ratios, what a licence variation actually involves – well enough to configure a property that works, rather than guessing and hoping it clears inspection.
What actually decides how many people a room can house
National minimum bedroom sizes are set out in the Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018, and they’re the floor every licensed HMO room has to clear, regardless of council:
| Room use | Minimum floor area |
| One person aged 10 or over | 6.51 sqm |
| Two people aged 10 or over | 10.22 sqm |
These are measured on usable floor area, wall to wall, only counting the part of a room with a ceiling height above 1.5 metres, so a sloped loft conversion doesn’t get the full footprint counted. Cambridge City Council also publishes its own Private Rented Sector Housing Standard, which can set requirements beyond these national minimums for kitchens, bathrooms and communal space — that’s the document to check for current specifics before finalising any room layout, since it’s reviewed periodically and we’d rather point you to the live version than risk quoting a figure that’s since moved.
Couples’ rooms: a legitimate way to add occupancy without adding bedrooms
Look at the table above again. A room sized for two occupants, 10.22 sqm, doesn’t need to be a second single room. Housing a couple in one adequately sized double room is a straightforward, fully legitimate way to increase a property’s total occupancy without changing its bedroom count or its footprint, provided the room genuinely meets the two-person size threshold and the property’s kitchen and bathroom facilities are adequate for the resulting total headcount.
It’s also worth knowing this is a growing part of the Cambridge sharer market in its own right — working couples who want their own space but can’t yet afford to rent a whole property alone are a real and increasing source of demand for a well-configured double room in an HMO, not just a compliance technicality.
Kitchens, bathrooms and shared space: why facilities have to scale with headcount
Room size is only half of what a council assesses. The other half is whether kitchen and bathroom provision — sinks, cooking capacity, fridge and freezer space, number of bathrooms and WCs — is adequate for the total number of people the property would house. Add an occupant to a room, and you may need to add capacity elsewhere in the property to match, not just clear the room-size threshold.
This is exactly the kind of detail that’s worth getting a proper assessment on before committing to a layout, rather than assuming a configuration will pass. Cambridge’s Private Rented Sector Housing Standard sets out the current specifics — linked at the end of this guide — and it’s a much cheaper document to read carefully than a failed inspection is to fix after the fact.
| Thinking about reconfiguring an HMO, or increasing occupancy on one you already let?
We’ll tell you honestly what a specific property can support, and what it would take to get there properly. |
The case for a really good four-bed over an average five-bed
Not every square foot has to go toward one more bedroom. A genuinely well-finished four-bed HMO — good kitchen, proper living space, rooms that feel like more than the minimum — can command a similar total rent to a cramped five-bed, while giving each tenant more space and fewer people to share with. That’s consistently what good HMO tenants say they want, and a property that delivers it tends to let faster and turn over less.
This is worth weighing seriously against simply maximising bedroom count. More rooms means more turnover, more management, and a higher bar to clear on facilities. A smaller number of well-presented rooms in a property tenants actually want to stay in can be the better business, not just the more comfortable-sounding one.
A word on the current climate
Cambridge is in the middle of a genuine public conversation about HMO standards and concentration right now — covered in more detail in our HMO licensing guide. Whatever comes of it, that means doing this properly, correctly sized rooms, adequate facilities, or a licence that actually matches what’s happening in the property, more valuable than ever, both because it’s the law and because well-run HMOs are exactly what keeps this type of housing viable in a city that’s currently debating whether to restrict it further.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I increase the number of tenants in my existing Cambridge HMO?
Only by having your licence formally varied to permit the higher number — the figure on your current licence is a hard limit, not a guideline. This normally involves the council inspecting the property to confirm room sizes and facilities genuinely support the increase. Housing more people than your licence permits, even briefly, is treated the same as operating without a licence at all. It’s always worth speaking to our Branch Manager when it comes to expanding your HMO occupants and what your options are.
Do couples count as one person for HMO room size rules?
No — a room housing two people, whether a couple or two individuals, must meet the two-person minimum floor area of 10.22 sqm under the national mandatory conditions, not the single-person minimum of 6.51 sqm. What changes with a couple is that you can house two people in one appropriately sized room rather than needing two separate rooms, which is a legitimate way to increase total occupancy without adding bedrooms.
Is it better to have more bedrooms or bigger, better bedrooms in an HMO?
It depends on your strategy, but a smaller number of well-finished, properly sized rooms can command similar total rent to a larger number of cramped ones, while letting faster and turning over less — good HMO tenants consistently prefer fewer people to share with. More bedrooms also means more facilities required, more management, and a higher compliance bar, which is worth weighing against the extra rent a cramped configuration might bring in.
What happens if I add tenants without varying my licence?
You’re treated exactly as if the property were unlicensed for those additional tenants — which can mean a civil penalty, criminal prosecution, and a rent repayment order, on top of losing the goodwill of a council you’ll need to deal with again at renewal. Any increase in occupancy needs to be agreed and reflected on the licence before the extra tenant moves in, not arranged informally and regularised later.
Does Cambridge charge to vary an HMO licence?
This varies enough by council nationally, and the current position in Cambridge specifically is worth confirming directly with the council before you plan around either answer — some councils charge a set fee for this kind of change, others don’t. Whatever the fee position, the process itself — an inspection to confirm the property genuinely supports the higher number — is the part to plan time around.
Where to check the current standards
- Cambridge City Council’s Private Rented Sector Housing Standard — current kitchen, bathroom and communal space requirements beyond the national minimums.
- Cambridge City Council’s HMO licensing pages — how to apply for a licence variation, and current fees.
- The Licensing of HMOs (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018 — the national minimum room sizes that apply everywhere, including Cambridge.
| Whether you’re reconfiguring an existing HMO or planning a new one, we’d rather help you get it right first time than watch you fix it after an inspection. |
| “The landlords who do best out of their HMOs aren’t the ones who’ve squeezed in the most beds — they’re the ones who’ve actually thought about what a room needs to work for the council and for the tenant. A well-sized double room for a couple, a kitchen that genuinely copes with the number of people using it, and a licence that matches what’s actually happening in the property — that’s not red tape; that’s what makes the whole thing run smoothly. I’d always rather talk a landlord through getting a four-bed properly right than watch them try to force a fifth room in and find out at inspection that the kitchen can’t support it.”
Stuart Bradley, Branch Manager, Belvoir Cambridge |
