2023 Houses of Multiple Occupation Amendment to Policy

North Devon Council recently received an inquiry from an agent regarding the potential restrictions on landlords renting out rooms within licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) for holiday lets. The current amenity standards for licensed HMOs were approved on 5 September 2022 and it has come to their attention that the existing legislation does not explicitly address the concern of short-term holiday letting individual rooms within licensed HMOs.

In response to this inquiry and to ensure transparency and inclusivity, NDC have decided to initiate a consultation process on whether rooms within licensed properties should be permitted to be rented out on a holiday let basis (via Airbnb, Vrbo etc.) and to require all living accommodation to be occupied by persons as their only or main residence or by persons who are to be treated as so occupying it under housing law (e.g. students, or those seeking refuge).

This consultation will run for 6 weeks beginning Tuesday 19 September 2023 until 31 October 2023.

The short consultation questions can be answered online and comments can be emailed to licensing@northdevon.gov.uk. 

To obtain a physical copy, Ilfracombe residents are encouraged to visit The Ilfracombe Centre Mon-Fri 9am-1pm, 2pm-5pm.

Tracked Changes HMO policy (pdf 501 KB)