Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO)
What is an HMO
Section 254 of the Housing Act 2004 defines a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) as a building or part of a building occupied by three or more unrelated persons forming more than 1 household where more than one household shares an amenity such as a bathroom, toilet or cooking facilities.
A house in multiple occupation (HMO), or a house of multiple occupancy, is a residential property where ‘common areas’ exist and are shared by more than one household. Usually, HMOs have been subdivided from larger houses originally designed for and occupied by one family. There is a serious shortage of single-family homes throughout the country. The conversion of a single-family home to an HMO increases the number of occupants of the property but reduces the number of single-family homes. A balance between these two conflicting demands must be struck.
Planning permission
The conversion of a family home to an HMO can have implications for residents of neighbouring properties because of the increased comings and goings, issues related to the parking of cars, arrangements for refuse disposal etc. The Council therefore regulates the creation of HMOs through planning control regulations and licensing schemes.
Planning control restricts the creation of HMOs to properties with an original floor area of at least 130 square metres. This is to try to prevent typical two or three-bedroom family properties from being converted to HMOs. The properties also must be within 400 metres of town centre shopping facilities and have good public transport links within easy reach. This is to address the issues arising if each HMO resident has a car. The intent is that most/all HMO residents will use public transport rather than have their own cars and will be able to walk to do their shopping. The town centre shopping facilities are the high streets of Hounslow, Chiswick, Brentford and Feltham. The local shopping areas of, say, Heston, Cranford, Isleworth and the Bath Road are not considered to be “town centre” facilities. The property itself must also meet specific requirements for the size of rooms, private amenity space, quality of shared services, provision of cycle racks, facilities for recycling, impact on the character and appearance of the local area, other similar developments in the surrounding area resulting in a serious cumulative impact on the character and residential amenity of the area, and would not result in additional excessive parking stress on the roads surrounding the development.
Planning permission is granted if the application is compliant with the Council’s Local Plan Policy SC10. Here is a link to Local Plan Policy SC10:
and is compliant with the Council’s “Houses in Multiple Occupation Supplementary Planning Document”. This SPD provides detailed guidance on the Council’s Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) policy in the adopted Local Plan (2015), including how the Council will assess proposals for conversion to HMOs
Download the Houses in Multiple Occupation Supplementary Planning Document
For many years, all HMOs for 6 or more occupants needed planning permission, but for less than 6 occupants a property could be converted to an HMO without the need for planning permission (“General Permitted Development Order”). Some years ago, HMOs became very popular with buy-to-let investors because they have higher income-generating potential than ordinary buy-to-let properties. About 5 years ago the Council recognised a significant increase in the number of single-family homes in the borough being converted using “permitted development rights” and wanted to protect the stock of single-family residences. They achieved this by implementing an “Article 4 Direction” for the whole borough which removed permitted development rights for all HMOs. This became effective in September 2023. The effect of the Article 4 Direction is that all HMOs now need planning permission.
HMO Licensing
In addition to needing planning permission, The Housing Act 2004 introduced mandatory licensing for HMOs. To be granted a licence under the scheme, the council considers if a person is fit and proper to run an HMO, if adequate management arrangements are in place, the planning status and wider neighbourhood issues – click for details Introduction | HMO licensing
You can report a house in multiple occupation (HMO) to the Council if you believe it is:
unlicensed
in breach of its licence conditions
Before you report it you should check:
information on HMO licensing
if the property is on the list of licensed HMOs
If the property is on the list of licensed HMOs, you can check:
the number of households permitted in the HMO
the number of occupants permitted in the HMO
the licence expiry date