Licensing
What is a house in multiple occupation (HMO)?
A house in multiple occupation is a property occupied by people from more than one household who share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom. Whether a property is an HMO is a question of occupation, not design.
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<img src="https://propertyoptix.co.uk/glossary/hmo-definition/diagram.svg" alt="house in multiple occupation — diagram from PropertyOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://propertyoptix.co.uk/glossary/hmo-definition">What is a house in multiple occupation (HMO)?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://propertyoptix.co.uk">PropertyOptix</a>
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</figure>The definition turns on households and sharing. Three friends sharing a house are three households; a couple and their children are one, which is why an identical building can be an HMO with one group and not with another.
Being an HMO brings obligations regardless of whether a licence is required — management regulations covering common parts, fire safety and amenities apply to HMOs generally.
Licensing sits on top of that: mandatory licensing for larger HMOs nationally, plus whatever additional licensing the local authority has designated.
What goes wrong in practice
- A property let to sharers on one agreement assumed not to be an HMO.
- Management regulations overlooked because no licence was required.
- Household composition changing mid-tenancy with nobody reassessing the status.