Min space standards for unlicenced HMO?

From 1st October, properties that meet all of the following criteria will be subject to mandatory licensing:

is occupied by five or more persons;
is occupied by persons living in two or more separate households; and
meets—
the standard test under section 254(2) of the Act;
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
the converted building test under section 254(4) of the Act.

The size restrictions are only for licenced HMOs. From >> http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2018/9780111167359/regulation/2

“Additional conditions to be included in licences under Part 2: floor area etc

1A.—(1) Where the HMO is in England, a licence under Part 2 must include the following conditions.

(2) Conditions requiring the licence holder—

(a)to ensure that the floor area of any room in the HMO used as sleeping accommodation by one person aged over 10 years is not less than 6.51 square metres;

(b)to ensure that the floor area of any room in the HMO used as sleeping accommodation by two persons aged over 10 years is not less than 10.22 square metres;

(c)to ensure that the floor area of any room in the HMO used as sleeping accommodation by one person aged under 10 years is not less than 4.64 square metres;

(d)to ensure that any room in the HMO with a floor area of less than 4.64 square metres is not used as sleeping accommodation.

Reply to the comment left by Neil Patterson at 21/08/2018 – 12:03
Thus eliminating much of the housing stock, including my own house. Just the sort of new regulation we need in the middle of a housing crisis.

Ian – you should check your local authority website as even unlicensed HMOs have standards on size, smoke alarms etc that the LA should enforce.

You may be able to argue that the rooms measuring 6.3m2 are OK if there is a living room and or large/kitchen diner which mitigates the small bedroom sizes. The room measuring 4.4m2 is desperately small however and probably completely unsuitable.
My advice would be to ask the Local Authority on their opinion of the suitability of the rooms and house in general for use as a HMO. My guess is that they’ll say all rooms are too small and if you let it as a HMO they may serve an Overcrowding Notice prohibiting the use of all rooms as sleeping accommodation.
Room size requirements don’t apply to rooms let to single households, so letting on this basis may be the better option.

Yes these rules are coming in to normal houses now Selective Licensing is here to enforce them.
They giving us 18 months notice to kick them out.
Approx 60% of my tenants got to go. But they ain’t going, ’cause tenants will revolt. What u kicking me out ’cause I’ve had an extra kid & one grew up to be over 10. Is that a crime?

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 22/08/2018 – 14:59
Growing up is not a crime, being a landlord is?.
Get the tenants to tell the council to rehouse them before the will move.

Reply to the comment left by James Barnes at 22/08/2018 – 09:31
The room measuring 4.4m2 is desperately small however and probably completely unsuitable.

When I left university in the ’70s and got my first job, my first accommodation was a box-room about that size in a shared house, and I was quite happy with it. I had few possessions that I needed in my room and there was reasonable living-room space.

Now that I have growed up and accumulated lots of crap, I would not be happy with it, but size alone should not prevent use as a bedroom.