According to the Housing Act 2004, a House in Multiple Occupation, or HMO, is a building, or part of a building, that is occupied by 3 or more persons who do not form a single household - in other words, are not family members. For example:
Please note, the rules regarding which properties count as HMOs for Council Tax, are different to the rules regarding which properties count as HMOs for licensing purposes.
Since April 2010, all landlords must apply for planning permission when converting a property into a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO). An application for planning permission will not be required where there are not more than six person living together as a single household.
For the purposes of ‘living together as a single household’ all amenities should be shared and individual rooms and spaces should be accessible to the general household, including bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens including kitchen space i.e cupboards etc.
Individual locked and tenanted rooms will invariably be classed as property that fulfils the criteria to qualify as a HMO and will require planning permission for use as an HMO.
You can also revert back to a dwelling house without the need for an application.
All HMOs are inspected with regard to the following:
More information on these inspections is available on the pages below: