A building or part of a building converted exclusively into self-contained flats meets the definition of a ‘Section 257’ house in multiple occupation when it meets specific criteria.
Either one of these must apply:
- the conversion was completed before 1 June 1992 and the building work does not meet the 1991 Building Regulations
- the conversion was after 1 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
In addition, both of these must apply:
- less than two-thirds of the self-contained flats are owner-occupied
- the building is occupied by three or more people from two or more households
Additional HMO Licensing Scheme
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.
