HMO or House in Multiple Occupation
What is an HMO?
For many people this is a minefield - the press have not given enough attention to this area of letting in our opinion as it affects many ordinary people's lives from Students to Professional people sharing properties, particularly in the South East/London area where property is either far too expensive to own/rent or there is not enough supply for the demand.
In simple terms an HMO is a property occupied by three or more people who do not form a single household.
If the property is three storey and occupied by five or more persons then that property must be Licensed (Mandatory Licensing)
If the local authority has an area designated for Additional Licensing, then if the property is two storey and occupied by five or more persons forming two households, this may be licensed by a local authority using (Additional Licensing) powers.
The Local Authority may also decide that they will licence all types of HMO within this designated area.
This area may be, say the centre of a city where there is a high population of shared accommodation, or smaller HMO's such as three person sharing a Zone for (Selective Licensing) where another part of the City where there is a low population of this type of property may escape.
Another type of HMO is the Converted House into Self -Contained Flats. Again these do not escape the HMO Regulations.
If a property was converted into self contained flats prior to the implementation of the 1991 Building Regulations then it will, by default become an HMO under Section 257 of the Housing Act 2004.
All Houses in Multiple Occupation or HMOs will be required to be upgraded to meet the local Amenity Standards and Means of Escape in case of fire as well as other Fire Precautions. Check our links page for more information on these. If you are not letting in Swansea check with your local authority for their Amenity Standards and Fire Precaution requirements.
Conditions will apply to the licensing such as
Want to know more ? Why not contact us or visit HMO-SUPPORT.COM
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