Houses in Multiple Occupation

Any house or converted building tenanted by people who do not belong to the same family is a House in Multiple Occupation ( HMO) with some exceptions. The living arrangements of the tenants are not material.

Generally speaking houses converted into self contained flats are not HMO s if they were converted in accordance with Building Regulations 1991.

Properties where only two single, unrelated people live are not HMO s.

Persons employed by a family, such as a live-in nanny will be regarded as part of the family.

Student houses and migrant workers houses will be HMO s

The Private Sector Housing Team inspects HMOs and enforces the legislation that relates to them to ensure safe and proper standards.

If the HMO has five or more occupants and is three or more storeys and there is at least one shared facility it may need to be licensed. You can download an HMO Licence Application Form here (PDF, 612KB).

Please see our HMO Standards page to see what facilities and fire safety requirements are required in HMO s

If you are a tenant or a landlord and would like further information about standards in HMO s or would like to request a visit to a property please contact us.

We are currently revising our Landlord Accreditation scheme; details will be made available as our plans progress on the Property Accreditation page.

Please note that from 6th April 2010 planning permission is required by persons converting property to a house in multiple occupation for 6 or fewer people. See the legislation.