🏢 Houses in Multiple Occupation explainer 🛌
It’s very likely you will have heard of HMOs and know what they’re about, however here’s a little refresher for you.
There are two types of HMO (for simplicity, lets ignore the ‘Oxford model’ and discount Scotland’s slightly different views), a standard HMO and a licensable HMO. A standard HMO is where 3 people formed of 2 or more households live in a single property, the property then becomes licensable when there are 5 or more people from 2 or more households. One aspect which can trip you up is that it doesn’t just consider tenants, if you have children or any other non-tenant in the property they are also considered.
For all intents and purposes, there is very little between a standard and licensable HMO, other than the need to apply for a licence. All competent landlords and agents should treat them in extremely similar ways as the local authority has the ability to ask for all information and certification on a licensable HMO at any time. They also are able to implement selective or additional licencing at any time. Due to this, we’re not going to differentiate between the two, however please check all with your local authority as they do vary their requirements for different areas.
So, what do you need to do to ensure the HMO is compliant?
🔌 Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
🔥 Gas Safety Certificate (GSC)
🌍 Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of E or higher
🚒 Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms as updated regulations
👨🚒 Fire Risk Assessment completed and monitored
🦠 Legionella Risk Assessment (LRA) completed and advice followed
🧯 Fire and furnishings must be compliant with the Furnishings and Fire Safety Regulations
💡 Emergency lighting certificate (where emergency lighting is installed)
🚨 Fire alarm test certificate (where a fire alarm system is installed)
🚪 Room sizes meet minimum requirements
🕵 Inspections should be completed every three months to check for hazards, amongst other things.
The list is variable for different local authorities, and actually applying for a licence complicates things even further. As with all, if you’re not certain (and please do not take the above as a definitive list), you should seek specific advice on the matter.
