A building or part of a building converted exclusively into self-contained flats is a ‘Section 257’ house in multiple occupation if:
EITHER: The conversion was completed before 1st June 1992 and the building work does not meet the 1991 Building Regulations
OR: The conversion was after 1st June 1992 and the building work did not comply with the Building Regulations at the time of conversion and still does not comply with them
AND: Less than two-thirds of the self-contained flats are owner-occupied
AND: The building is occupied by three or more people from two or more households
In accordance with Oxford City Councils Additional Licensing Designation only converted blocks of flats that ‘are mainly or wholly tenanted’ will require a licence.
More than 50% of the flats in the property must be tenanted for it to be licensable. For example:
- A building consisting of one owner occupied flat and 1 tenanted flat is not mainly or wholly tenanted as this is not more than 50%.
- Empty flats do not count as tenanted flats.
From 10 June 2021, all other HMOs in Oxford require an HMO licence under the Councils’ Additional Licensing scheme. For more information, see Additional Licensing scheme changes 2021.
