1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018.
(2) This Order comes into force on 1st October 2018.
2. This Order applies in relation to an HMO in England(1).
3. In this Order “the Act” means the Housing Act 2004.
4. An HMO is of a prescribed description for the purpose of section 55(2)(a) of the Act if it—
(a)is occupied by five or more persons;
(b)is occupied by persons living in two or more separate households; and
(c)meets—
(i)the standard test under section 254(2) of the Act;
(ii)the self-contained flat test under section 254(3) of the Act but is not a purpose-built flat situated in a block comprising three or more self-contained flats; or
(iii)the converted building test under section 254(4) of the Act.
5. A licence issued under Part 3 of the Act has effect as if issued under Part 2 of the Act in respect of an HMO that—
(a)is licensed under Part 3 prior to 1st October 2018, and
(b)is required to be licensed under Part 2 from that date.
6. The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (England) Order 2006(2) is revoked.
7.—(1) The Secretary of State must from time to time—
(a)carry out a review of the regulatory provision contained in this Order, and
(b)publish a report setting out the conclusions of the review.
(2) The first report must be published before 6th April 2023.
(3) Subsequent reports must be published at intervals not exceeding five years.
(4) Section 30(4) of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 requires that a report published under this article must, in particular—
(a)set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory provision referred to in paragraph 1(a),
(b)assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved,
(c)assess whether those objectives remain appropriate, and
(d)if those objectives remain appropriate, assess the extent to which they could be achieved in another way which involves less onerous regulatory provision.
(5) In this article, “regulatory provision” has the same meaning as in sections 28 to 32 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015(3).
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Heather Wheeler
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
20th February 2018