About HMOs and licensing
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What is a house in multiple occupancy (HMO)?
Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) are houses or flats occupied by unrelated people.
These properties include:
- bedsits
- shared houses
- lodgings
- hostels
- some buildings consisting of converted self-contained or studio flats
Because HMOs can have large numbers of occupants, they are subject to extra rules to make sure they are safe and properly run.
About HMO licensing
HMO licensing was introduced by the government to help keep private tenants safe.
If your property is licensable, you must apply for a licence.
It's an offence if your property should be licensed, but it isn't.
This can result in an unlimited fine upon conviction or a civil penalty up to £30,000. Tenants may also be able to claim back up to 12 months rent.
HMO licence conditions
Most HMOs require a licence.
The licence holder must ensure that they comply with all of:
- their licence conditions
- the HMO Management Regulations
- relevant requirements throughout the lifetime of the licence, such as keeping your contact details up-to-date and sending in copies of safety certificates when they are due
It is an offence not to comply with any licence conditions and enforcement action may be taken against you.
Types of HMO licensing
There are 2 types of licensing scheme that apply to privately rented HMOs in Barnet:
- Mandatory licensing, as set by the government
- Additional licensing
Mandatory licensing
Mandatory licensing is set by the government.
It applies to HMOs occupied by 5 or more people in 2 or more households and in 1 of these categories:
- houses with sharing of basic facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom or WC
- self-contained flats with sharing of basic facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom or WC
- converted buildings with a mixture of self-contained flats and non self-contained residential units
Additional licensing
Barnet has now adopted a borough-wide scheme which applies to smaller HMOs not covered by mandatory licensing.
This applies to HMOs occupied by 3 or more people in 2 or more households.
Additional licensing also applies to buildings converted into self contained flats that don't meet the Building Regulations 1991(or later) and:
- the building is 3 or more storeys in height
- there are at least 3 flats
- all the flats are privately rented
- both the building and the self-contained flats are under the same ownership or control
HMO register
By law, we are required to maintain a public register of properties licensed under the Housing Act 2004.