According to the Housing Act 2004, a House in Multiple Occupation, or HMO, is a building, or part of a building, that is occupied by 3 or more persons who do not form a single household - in other words, are not family members. For example:
Please note, the rules regarding which properties count as HMOs for Council Tax, are different to the rules regarding which properties count as HMOs for licensing purposes.
All landlords must apply for planning permission when converting a property into a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO). An application for planning permission will not be required where there are not more than six persons living together as a single household, unless that property is located within the Article 4 Direction Area for HMOs.
Please contact Development Management for further advice by emailing: DM@ipswich.gov.uk
All HMOs are inspected with regard to the following:
More information on these inspections is available on the pages below: