Houses in multiple occupation (HMO)

An HMO should have a permission or consent for its use or be able to demonstrate that they have established use as an HMO.

We expect that landlords will have this planning permission in place before applying for a Mandatory HMO licence, or using a property as a Non-Mandatory HMO with 3 or 4 tenants.   If this is the case no further planning consent is required.

An Article 4 Direction is in place in Croydon. As such, any HMO of 3 to 6 people created after 28 January 2020 (C4 Use Class) must have appropriate planning consent.

This direction does not affect the need for larger HMOs which accommodate seven or more people to have appropriate planning consent. This requirement has been in place for many years.

We will take into account the planning status of an HMO as part of the licence application process.

In the case of unauthorised use as an HMO, we will likely grant a licence with a reduced term, usually one year. If a reduced term licence is granted due to a breach of planning control, the landlord should address this within that same period by, fixing the breach (returning an unauthorised HMO back to single family use) or getting the necessary planning consent. At the end of the year the need for a further licence application can then be reviewed. A fee applies for a one year licence and is non-refundable, even if planning consent is subsequently refused.

 read more about the Article 4 Direction.