What Is an HMO in Brighton? The Household Rule, Storey Thresholds, and Edge Cases

The Legal Definition That Matters

Under the Housing Act 2004, a House in Multiple Occupation in Brighton comes down to two questions: how many separate households live in the property, and do they share any facilities?

A "household" means a family unit — people who are married, in a civil partnership, cohabiting as a couple, or related by blood, adoption, or foster care. Everyone else counts as a separate household. Three friends sharing a house? That's three households. A couple and one friend? Two households.

Children count as full occupants regardless of age. A family of two parents and three children is five occupants in one household — not an HMO (only one household), but potentially licensable under selective licensing if it's in a designated ward.

The Three-Sharers Rule

Brighton landlords often hear about "the three-sharers rule" and get confused about what it actually triggers. Here's the breakdown:

Three or four unrelated people, two or more storeys: This is an additional HMO. The city-wide additional licensing scheme (running from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2029) requires a licence for any property with three or four occupants from two or more households, arranged across two or more storeys.

Three or four unrelated people, single storey: This does not require an Additional HMO licence because it fails the storey test. But if the flat is in Kemptown, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queens Park, or Whitehawk & Marina, it needs a selective licence instead.

Five or more people from two or more households: Mandatory HMO, regardless of storeys. National rules apply city-wide, no expiry.

What Counts as Two Storeys?

The storey threshold trips up more landlords than any other part of the HMO definition. A maisonette spread across two levels is two storeys. A Victorian house converted into separate floors counts its full height. But a ground-floor flat that occupies a single level — even in a multi-storey building — is single storey for HMO purposes.

The test looks at the property itself, not the building it sits in. A flat on one level within a four-storey block is a single-storey property.

Resident Landlords and Lodgers

If you live in the property yourself and take in lodgers, you're generally exempt from HMO licensing under Schedule 14 of the Housing Act 2004 — but only if you let to no more than two paying lodgers alongside your own household. A third unrelated lodger pushes the property into HMO territory, triggering additional or mandatory licensing depending on total numbers.

Why It Matters

Getting the HMO classification wrong means applying for the wrong licence — or not applying at all. An unlicensed HMO in Brighton can attract civil penalties of up to £40,000 per offence, and tenants can pursue Rent Repayment Orders covering up to 24 months of gross rent.

The Brighton and Hove Landlord Licensing Guide includes a decision worksheet that takes your occupancy numbers, household relationships, storey count, and ward location and tells you exactly which licence applies.

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