HMO Regulations In A Nutshell
I get asked this question ALL the time so thought I should really put down the laymans simple guide to what the HMO regulations mean for you.
Since the Housing Act of 2004, all HMO’s (Houses of Multiple Occupation) have fallen under the regulations of the act.
The regulations cover any investment property where two or more unrelated people share – so even if you have a 2-bed flat and you have 2 unrelated people sharing it; its technically a HMO.
However, the government are really interested in larger HMO’s where risks such as fire hazards, overcrowding, poor sanitary and conditions may prevail. This being the case, the the standard of the regulations differs according to the type of HMO it is.
There’s also the confusion over occupants verses households. An occupant is a person; a household is the family unit; i.e. there are four people that live in my house but only one household. I have licences for properties where I can let to 6 households but up to 8 people (ie I could let to 2 couples if I wanted to). You get the picture…
Generally speaking, the high-risk HMO’s where there are more than 5 people sharing in a 3 storey or greater house is where the regulations will be tightest – and rightly so as these are the types of houses where fire safety needs to be highest. These investment properties will be subject to mandatory licencing.So, how do you know whether your property falls under mandatory licencing or not?
- The regulations will generally only apply to houses as flats are unlikely to have the space or facilities for multiple-occupation (unless they are one of the new hybrid of student-flat developments springing up everywhere).
- The key criteria always asked is – is the house occupied by 5 or more people (including children) who are living as 2 or more households?
- The next criteria is – are amenities shared between households such as bathrooms, kitchens, toilets or showers?
- The final criteria asked - is the property 3 storeys (floors) in height?
Depending on your answers will depend on whether your property is classified as requiring a mandatory licence. I’ve included a flow diagram below which shows the questions that you need to consider when purchasing a HMO as an investment property.
So, what then happens if you have a property that is classified as a HMO and it needs licencing?
- You need to get in contact with your local council and speak to the HMO Licencing Team (depending on the council, this may be someone on the Environmental Health team) and get then to send you an Application Form for a House in Multiple Occupancy.
- The normal forms are about 30 pages long and go into a lot of detail – so you’ll need to set aside a couple of hours to complete this in full. The form basically asks you a lot of information about the property, you and the managing agent (if you’re not managing it yourself). I’m going to cover in another post how to fill out the form correctly.
- Send this off together with a large cheque of indeterminant amount (last time I checked, licence fees went from £300 right through to £1,500 per property across the country – although its the same amount of work every time!).
- The council will then get back in contact with you regarding any fire and safety regulations that you may need to adhere to. Again, I’m going to cover these in more detail in another post but for now; suffice to say that any 3-storey property with 5 or more people in is generally going to need a BS5839:6 2004 Grade A fire system. Sometimes a Grade B or Grade D system is allowed but this does depend on the fire officer, the level of risk presented and the structure of the building.
- You’re also going to have to have fire doors on all “hot” doors (basically anything that isn’t a bathroom) with intrumescant strips and closers. That together with fire extinquishers in the kitchen will give you enough protection against any fires.
For a HMO that isn’t licenced, the same rules apply in terms of health and safety but you won’t be required to follow a prescribed set of instructions – this is something that you need to do yourself and be comfortable that the fire protection you are providing is adequate according to the regulations in place.
So, to sum up; if you have a 3 storey property with 5 or more people in, you will need to apply for a mandatory licence; if there are less people or less storeys that this; it will not be licenced but it will still be a HMO.
Please feel free to post some comments below if you have any further questions.
I own my ground floor flat, but the two properties above me are rental investments, and frequently have a high level of occupants. Is there a statutory maximum occupancy for rental properties and if so where do I get this information from, so I can ascertain whether these are in fact over crowded?
Thank you, Gaby
Hi Gaby,
This is a difficult question and depends upon the interpretation by the local council of the HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Rating System) that was introduced recently.
Over-crowding does come into play as one of the 29 hazaards but its only one of many.
If the two properties are held on seperate titles and thus are not HMO’s, then it may be possible that the landlord is letting out rooms in the properties. The difficulty here is that there are no specific “overcrowding” issues that come into play in terms of maximum occupancy for rental properties of this nature. If they were licenced HMO’s (which you can find out from your local council), then there would be a maximum permitted level of occupants.
May’be you could talk to the landlord if the occupancy is causing you any issues in terms of noise pollution?
regards
Matthew
I have house
Ground floor : Lounge , bedroom with ensuite and kitchen
1st floor: 2 double bedrooms and a bathroom
I have two students on single tenency agreement, share of bills, lounge kitchen
Is this a HMO
Thanks
Ace
Hi Ace, yes it is a HMO but if they are sharing the full facilities and living together, then the council would probably class it as a shared house. At the very least, you should ensure that you have fire alarms on both floors, heat detector in kitchen and fire blankets/extinquishers. The council generally won’t want anything more than this but check their website anyway.
Matthew,
If a large 3 storey house is owned by a landlord and subdivided into a combination of one bed self contained and bedsit flats is this difined as a HMO or flats
Hi Mark, this depends on what you are doing. A HMO is where 2 or more unrelated people share a property. If you have both bedsits and flats, it could be a HMO but there isn’t enough information to make a judgement I’m afraid.
We are purchasing a house that has an HMOC and is currently let to students. We are buying the house in order to let the property to our doughter and four friends from September. Do I now need to apply for a HMOC in our name or does the certificate normally transfer with the property. How often do you need to renew (if at all) the HMOC?
Many thanks for anu advice
Regards.
Carole Riley
Carole, I take it by HMOC you mean it has a licence? If so, unforunately you will have to apply for a new licence! Sorry. (and yes, what a money spinner eh?)
Hi There
I currently rent my only house out to a single tenant under the usual short term tenancy agreement. She asked if she could have a paying guest and I agreed. Her guest has subsequently applied for housing benefit and now the council think I have a multi-occupancy property and want me to pay the Council tax etc. I have sent them copies of the tenancy agreement which is really clear regarding the fact that my tenant has full access to the house and is solely responsible for all bills etc. However they won’t back down. Are they right, what can I do next? Please note the guest was paying her not me, I have no arrangement with the guest at all.
Thanks
Steve
Hi Steve, if you take a look at the “council tax” post, then I answer this in some detail. I doubt that you are responsible but you may need to write certain letters to them in order to make this happen.
regards
Matthew
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