Property

Houses in multiple occupation

Houses in Multiple Occupation or HMOs play an important part in providing a mixture of housing to meet needs in our communities. It is important they are licensed, where necessary, so they meet safety standards and guidance is given below whether you are a potential landlord or a tenant. For new HMOs planning permission is required in certain areas of Yeovil and guidance is given as to the process.

I am renting out a HMO
Anyone who rents out their HMO and has five or more occupants will require a licence.

You can:
- Apply for a licence
- Re-apply for a licence
A licence costs £600, plus £42 for every room exceeding 5, and will last for 5 years.

To assist with your application see our Licence guidance

If you have an HMO or shared house with 3 or 4 people living in the property the Council still needs to know so we can inspect your property, please email enhprivate@southsomerset.gov.uk to arrange an inspection. You don’t need a licence but you still have to abide by The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006. Please see this leaflet for more information:

HMO management leaflet

HMO management leaflet - occupiers

HMO management leaflet - occupiers - Polish translation

HMO management leaflet - occupiers - Bulgarian translation

HMO management leaflet - occupiers - Romanian translation

All HMOs and shared houses are required to be up to these standards in South Somerset - SSDC HMO Standards

All HMOs and shared houses require regular safety checks to be made, download our logbook to keep your records together.

If you have concerns about another HMO or suspect HMO, report the property to us for investigation.

View our register of licensed HMOs.

If your issue isn’t covered by any of the above, you can contact us.
I am living in a HMO

To find out if your home is registered as a HMO, view our list of licensed properties.

If you believe your home is a HMO and it isn’t listed on the registry above, you can report it to us.

If your home is a licensed HMO, you can contact us to raise any concerns about the property you may have.
I need to report a HMO

Complete the form below if you believe a property is an unlicensed HMO or if you would like to raise a concern about a known HMO.

To find out if a property is registered as an HMO, view our list of licensed HMOs.

Report any concerns to us online.
I want to use a dwelling as a HMO (Article 4)
We have confirmed an Article 4 direction which now requires a planning application to be submitted to use a dwelling as an HMO for ore than 3 unrelated people, thereby allowing the impacts to be properly considered.

The Direction only relates to certain areas of Yeovil, see the maps below.

HMOs are an important element of our housing stock and it is necessary to ensure there is sufficient capacity to meet increasing demands. It is equally important to ensure that the location and quality of HMOs are properly assessed to ensure that there is no adverse impact upon residents or surrounding properties. This Direction does not rule out further HMOs being permitted but does mean they are subject to more scrutiny.

Councillors of the Area South Committee first considered the matter in February 2016. View the first report and minutes. In April 2016, members resolved to progress the Direction in principle. A presentation was given to Members and a draft map of affected areas with will be subject to the Article 4 was produced.

The Direction was initially made on the 19 May 2016 and we undertook consultation for 28 days which ended on 17 June 2016.

The Direction cam into force on 19 November 2016.

The final set of HMO plans for public consultation:
Applicants for new HMOs in the affected zones are advised to take into account our guidance notes.

If you have any questions regarding this, contact us.

Please note that the Direction has now been replaced with a new Direction to include Mitchelmore Road and Roping Road (as an extension to the existing Zone 2) with a further zone (Zone 6) to cover College Green. Please see the tab directly below for more details.
Expansion of Article 4 Direction

The Area South Committee has agreed that the Article 4 Direction that restricts the provision of HMOs in certain areas of Yeovil should be expanded to include Mitchelmore Road and Roping Road (as an extension to the existing Zone 2) with a further zone (Zone 6) to cover College Green.

The Committee report in relation to Mitchelmore Road/ Roping Road and minutes.

The Committee report in relation to College Green and minutes.

Following the required consultation the new Direction will be in force from the 1^st February 2021. The Direction can be viewed here.