Houses in multiple occupation (HMO)

A House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is a house or flat where both of the following apply:

• at least 3 tenants live there, forming more than one household
• the occupants share toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities with other tenants

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

An HMO could be a:

• house divided into bedsits with a shared kitchen and/or bathroom
• shared house or flat where the tenants do not occupy it as a typical family would or where the sharers are not members of the same family
• house converted into self-contained flats
• hostel
• bed-and-breakfast hotel that is not just for holidays
• hotel or accommodation being used as a hostel to house a group of people with a common need, usually on a short term basis - for example homeless people, unaccompanied minors, asylum seekers, ex-offenders, and semi-independent living schemes
• shared accommodation for students/employees/friends – although many halls of residence and other types of student accommodation owned by educational establishments are not classed as HMOs