Houses that are split up and rented to three or more people who do not form a single household and where tenants share bathroom, toilet or kitchen facilities are referred to as Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs). A houses split up into bedsits is a typical example of an HMO.

Unless the landlord lives on the premises, tenants of HMOs have the same rights as any other tenants. The principle differences are:

The landlord may inspect the shared areas (but not the individual tenant's rooms) without prior permission from the tenants. Unlike tenancies of self-contained accommodation, the landlord will receive the bill for Council Tax. The rent is expected to include payment towards Council Tax. The regulations for standards of accommodation are very different. For example, fire regulations are far stricter in HMOs.