Overview
Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) provide housing for people who share a property but are not all part of the same household.
There are rules about planning permission, licensing and how HMOs must be managed.
What an HMO is
An HMO is a property occupied by 3 or more persons from more than one household and who share basic amenities such as bathrooms or kitchens.
Within the borough, all HMOs require a licence to operate within one of two schemes:
- Mandatory HMO licensing for HMOs where 5 or more people from 2 or more households share facilities
- Additional HMO licensing for HMOs where 3 or 4 people from 2 or more households share facilities
The Royal Borough maintains a register of licensed HMOs. You can find out which HMOs are licensed by searching the landlord licence public register.
The difference between a planning permission and HMO licensing
Planning permission and HMO licensing are separate processes.
Planning permission considers whether a property can be used as an HMO.
HMO licensing considers whether the property and the people responsible for managing it meet the required standards.
An HMO may need both planning permission and an HMO licence.