Houses in Multiple Occupation

The Scottish Government introduced mandatory licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in October 2000. A licence is required for every house or flat where three or more people live who are not all members of one family or of one or other of two families. The house must be their only or main home. Flats or bedsits which are otherwise separate are considered part of one house if they share cooking, washing or toilet facilities. Resident landlords and members of their family are not counted in calculating the number of occupants, so they only need a licence if they have three or more tenants living with them.

The owner of the house is responsible for obtaining an HMO licence from the local authority. Before awarding a licence, the authority will make sure that acceptable standards are met.

Further information is available from the Scottish Government website.

Or by contacting:

Grant Murray
Private Rented Housing Officer
Telephone: 0141 577 3573
Email: