If you are planning to rent your property to people who will be sharing the same kitchen and bathroom, you must have knowledge of Planning Permission for HMO. You need to be aware of the legal procedures in order to avoid any fines.

The regulations for General Permitted Development Order (GDPO) were amended on 1 October 2010.

These permitted development rights give permission for change of use between the two use classes, from C3 Dwelling House to C4 HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) subject to certain limits and conditions.

Permitted development is permission granted from the government only when the changes you wish to make comply with its regulations. Changes made to the order allow landlords to pursue the changes between certain use classes without a planning permission subject to conditions. Please refer to ARTICLE 4 DIRECTION.

Definition of a HMO

If a property is rented by at least 3 people who are unrelated occupants (i.e. not a family) and from 2 or more ‘households’. A House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is any residential property occupied by 3 or more people sharing facilities such as a kitchen and bathroom.

Mandatory Licensing

Mandatory licensing applies to larger HMO’s nationwide. Where there are five or more unrelated occupants in a property, the property legally requires a HMO mandatory license.

Previously, this related to properties that were over 3 storeys, as of 1st October 2018, this legislation has now been amended to apply to properties over any amount of storeys. This legislation change applies for all new and existing tenancies. This means that single storey properties and two storey properties will also need a mandatory license.

There is an exception for purpose built flats situated in a block of three or more self-contained flats.

In addition to the above, there are now new mandatory licensing conditions in regards to national minimum bedroom sizes, this also came into forces as of 1st October 2018. If the person is over 10 years old, the minimum bedroom size is not less than 6.51 meter squares and where there are two people sleeping in the accommodation, the floor area of the room must be not less than 10.22 meters squared. Please note that councils can impose their own minimum bedroom sizes. This information is correct at time of print and more detail regarding this can be found on the government website: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/616/made?view=plain

Additionally, landlords are now to adhere to council refuse schemes. As of 1st October 2018, should landlords not have adhered to any of the items detailed above, they are committing a criminal offence.