Houses in multiple occupation

When a landlord applies for a licence for a HMO, the property is approved for a maximum number of persons. If there are more people living in the property than the license allows, the landlord has committed an offence.

Renting a room in a shared house used to be something associated with students or young people. But, this type of renting arrangement is becoming much more common, and many people live in shared housing well past their student years.

A house in multiple occupation, or HMO, is a particular type of rented housing, but not all shared housing will be a HMO. It's important to know if the home you are renting should be classed as a HMO. If it is, it must be licensed and meet extra safety standards.

The council has a number of enforcement tools available to deal with problems in HMOs. As well as a system of fixed penalty notices, the council can serve certain statutory notices on a HMO owner or manager. 

Your HMO manager must look after the property and your tenancy in accordance with a code of practice. The code of practice makes the HMO manager responsible for a number of different areas.