House in Multiple Occupation.
In law it means a property let to three or more people who are not all from the same household and who share a kitchen, a bathroom or a toilet. Household means a family or a couple, so three friends sharing is an HMO and a couple with a child is not.
The label matters because HMOs carry extra duties: fire safety, room sizes, sometimes a licence, and usually the council tax bill landing on you rather than the tenants.
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