Definition of a HMO Property (House in Multiple Occupation) is where the following applies:

• At least 3 tenants live there, forming more than one household
• They share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities with other tenants

A household is either a single person of the same family who live together.  

A family includes people who are:

• married or living together – including same-sex relationships
• relatives or half-relatives eg grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings
• step-parents and step-children

Landlords will typically buy a HMO property as it can give multiple income streams from the property. Returns can also be much higher but extra work in managing them. There may also be a higher upfront cost if conversion is required.

Licencing

A Mandatory HMO Licence is required where:

• Five or more people form two or more households with shared facilities. 

HMO Licences are applied online from the local Housing Team.  There are a number of standards you will have to comply with in your HMO property, including room sizes.  At the time of writing this, the UK national minimum room size for a single person is 6.51 Sqm and double occupation is 10.22 Sqm but this should be checked.

There will be additional requirements for fire safety and property management that will also need to be adhered to.

Conclusion

It’s always prudent to check the requirements before investing and get advice from the local authority for that area.

If you need further information, contact us