What is a ‘shared’ or bedsit HMO?
A ‘shared’ or bedsit HMO is a house or a self-contained flat (or a building, or part of a building) occupied, as their main residence, by three or more persons belonging to two or more households, at least one of whom is renting. But shared accommodation is not an HMO if (as in Schedule 14 of the Housing Act 2004): • it is occupied by only two persons • it is occupied by the owner and their household plus one lodger or two lodgers • no rents (or other considerations) are payable • the owner or manager is a local authority, a registered social landlord, a police or fire authority, or a health service body • it is student accommodation owned or managed by an educational institution • it is occupied principally for the purposes of a religious community.
