Houses in Multiple Occupation
Pages in Houses in Multiple Occupation
- 1. You are here: Houses in Multiple Occupation
- 2. Licensing of HMOs
- 3. Information for landlords of HMOs
- 4. Register of Licences of HMOs
The Environmental Health team works to ensure the safety of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in the same way as they do in other rented accommodation using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. For more details please see our Housing standards webpage.
Landlords of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) also have additional responsibilities relating to the management of their property.
What are Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)?
HMOs are accommodation where amenities are shared by persons who do not belong to the same household. For example:
| Shared house or flat: | When three or more tenants (in at least two households*) rent a whole house and share the kitchen and/or bathroom and/or toilet it is an HMO. Please note, where the landlord is resident then it only becomes an HMO when there are three tenants in addition to the landlord and their family. |
|---|---|
| Converted house to contain bedsits or bedrooms: | Where there are three or more tenants (in at least two households*), each household rents a room or bedsit and shares a kitchen and/or bathroom and/or toilet with the others then it is an HMO |
| Converted house to contain some bedsits or bedrooms and some self contained flats: | Where there are three or more tenants (in at least two households*) in the non-self contained accommodation only and each of these households rents a room or bedsit and shares a kitchen and/or bathroom and/or toilet with others it is an HMO. |
| Converted house containing all self contained flats: | In certain circumstances a HMO can also sometimes be a converted house containing all self contained flats. This is only the case where the building has not been converted to the standard required by the 1991 Building Regulations and when more than a third of the flats are let on short term tenancies (that is terms granted for less than 21 years). This type of HMO is called a 'converted block of flats' and is sometimes also known as a section 257 HMO. These HMOs are subject to different regulations to those listed above. |
A *household is either a single person or members of the same family who live together. A family includes people who are:
- married or living together - including people in same-sex relationships
- relatives or half-relatives, for example grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings
- step-parents and step-children
Exemptions
Some properties are exempt from being classed as HMOs for example properties of the types described above but owned by Public Sector Bodies, Housing Associations, the Health Service and the Police.