I was recently reading an article on a great question and answer site about whether or not you can rent a property but only put some of the tenants on the tenancy agreement.

The reason it piqued my curiousity was because it fell under HMO Regulations and started to raise issues.

The question raised was if 2 couples and a single person got a place together in a 3-storey building, did they then need a HMO licence?

Both the question and the answer to me brought many confusions over the HMO Regulations into question but for me; the main question that needed asking was – are the people living together as one household or are they unrelated?

The HMO Regulations are unneccesarily complex and this is one area where normal law-abiding citizens are affected.  According to the HMO Regulations, the real issue surrounding 3-storey buildings comes into place if 5 or more people sharing are living as 2 or more households.

If the people in the question were say a couple and their brother or sister, then technically, they are one household.  That alongside the other couple would make 2 households.  If they are all related, then they are one household.

You can see why its overtly complex, needs re-addressing by the next (hopefully landlord-friendly) government and needs simplifying so the average person in the street can understand the HMO regulations.