A house in multiple occupation (HMO) is a house or flat where the following can apply:
Housing Definition
- At least three people live there, forming more than one household.
- The occupants share toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities with other tenants.
- A household is either a single person or members of the same family who live together.
Council Tax Definition
A property adapted to accommodate more than one household-please note that there is no limit to the number of occupiers
- Where the property was originally constructed, or subsequently adapted, for occupation by more than one household.
- Each person who lives in it are either a tenant or licensee who is only able to occupy part of the property exclusively, while sharing other areas of the dwelling, e.g. bathroom, kitchen or living area
- And are not liable to pay rent for the whole property.
An HMO could be a:
- house split into separate bedsits or a property that has been adapted to accommodate more than one household for Council Tax purposes
- shared house or flat, where the sharers are not members of the same family
- hostel
- bed-and-breakfast hotel that is not just for holidays
- shared accommodation for students – although many halls of residence and other types of student accommodation owned by educational establishments are not classed as HMOs.
For a legal definition of an HMO, visit the National HMO Network website or visit Legislation.gov.uk.