Mandatory licensing is required for houses in multiple occupation (HMO).
A home is a HMO if the house is occupied by 3 or more people in 2 or more households (families).
A home is a large HMO if both of the following apply:
- at least 5 tenants live there, forming more than 1 household
- they share the toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities with other tenants
Some buildings converted into self-contained flats are also HMOs if they do not comply with the 1991 or later building regulations.
These are called section 257 HMOs.
Planning permission for HMOs
Having a valid property licence is not the same as having planning permission.
You need planning permission if:
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you want to let your property as an HMO to 7 or more people
-
your property is in an Article 4 direction area, no matter how many people will occupy it
Check if you need planning permission