A house in multiple occupation (HMO), or a house of multiple occupancy, is a British English term which refers to residential properties where ‘common areas’ exist and are shared by more than one household. Most HMOs have been subdivided from larger houses designed for and occupied by one family. Some housing legislation makes a distinction between those buildings occupied mainly on long leases and those where the majority of the occupants are short-term tenants. The definition of an HMO has its origins in fire safety legislation, following a series of publicised, preventable deaths in overcrowded buildings. Design In HMOs, bathrooms and kitchens / kitchenettes are typically designated as common areas shared by all tenants, but contractually speaking common areas may also include stairwells, gardens and landings. Houses may be divided up into self-contained flats, bed-sitting rooms or simple lodgings. Legally compliant HMOs are characterised by a higher standing of fire proofing, after a series of deaths in overcrowded houses. According to the Campaign for Bedsit Rights, three people a week died in fires in houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) between 1985 and 1991. History HMOs were principally defined by the Housing Act 1985, as being "...a house which is occupied by persons who do not form a single household". The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 expanded the definition to include any part of a building which: "would not [ordinarily] be regarded as a house" and "was originally constructed or subsequently adapted for occupation by a single household" Both the 1985 and the 1989 Acts have since been superseded by the Housing Act 2004, which established a more complete and complex definition and also introduced the requirement for some HMOs to be subject to mandatory licensing (see below). The Housing Act 1985 was a consolidating act. The definition of HMO in section 345 HA85 was from section 129(1) of the Housing Act 1974. The Housing Act 2004 introduced mandatory licensing for large HMOs which were defined in the Act as properties with five or more tenants forming more than one household sharing facilities such as kitchen bathroom and/or toilets over three or more floors. On 1 October 2018 the Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018 amended the large HMO definition in the 2004 Act by abolishing the "3 or more floors" requirement. Nevertheless, purpose-built flats in a block of three or more such flats, were