Q. I am buying a three-bedroom house to be used by my daughter whist she is at university. The spare bedrooms and the dining room will be rented to 3 other students and all 4 will live as one household sharing all bills. A friend has suggested that this arrangement will be caught by the houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) regulations. What is an HMO's and is he right?
A. An HMO is a house or flat let to 3 or more tenants, who form 2 or more households and share facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. Bizarrely, government guidance suggests that 4 single, unrelated people living together as you describe will actually constitute four separate households so it is likely that this will be an HMO.
HMOs are often poorly managed and in poor physical condition and a licensing regime has been introduced with the aim of raising management and amenity standards. Mandatory licensing applies to all HMOs that are of 3 or more storeys' and occupied by five or more persons who together do not form a single household.
From the facts that you have given, it is unlikely that the property will be subject to mandatory licensing. However, we recommend that you check this with the relevant Local Authority as you can commit a criminal offence if you get it wrong. And finally, knowing something of how students treat properties from my own student days, the very best of luck to you - you'll need it!
For specialist advice contact Keith Swan of Patterson, Glenton & Stracey Solicitors by email at ks@pgslaw.co.uk or by telephone on 0808 231 7043. Patterson, Glenton & Stracey Solicitors have provided legal advice to the people of South Tyneside for over 125 years. For details of their full range of services and to view previous Gazette articles please log on to www.pgslaw.co.uk . Patterson, Glenton & Stracey Solicitors: Guided by Logic.
