Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Licensing- its implications for homestay families
The new HMO licence came into force on 6 April 2006. Under the new rules, a house is considered as being an HMO, therefore requiring a licence, when amongst other criteria the landlord is not resident and/ or the house has been converted and let out to 3 or more tenants who form 2 or more households.
From the above definition, homestay families should automatically be exempt, however in some cases, local councils have classed homestays as HMOs.
To counter this decision, it is important for homestays to demonstrate that they are not renting the rooms to students, and that the students form part of the family’s household. Homestays can also show that the money being paid to them by centres is not a market rent, and in effect only covers the provision of agreed services to the students.
