Editorial round-up · 2026

Best HMO software (UK, 2026)

HMOs sit on a different operational footing to single lets: room-level occupancy, shared bill allocation, mandatory HMO licence renewal, additional fire-risk obligations and the same Awaab’s Law SLA as the rest of the PRS. We tested four UK platforms with a real 6-bed mandatory-licence HMO in Manchester for 28 days and ranked them on HMO-specific operations first, with compliance as the secondary axis.

Last reviewed:19 April 2026Editor: Erdem Volkan

How we picked

We ran every product against the same 6-bed mandatory-licence HMO (Manchester City Council, Article 4 area, joint-tenancy room allocation, three energy bills split inclusively). Scoring axes: (a) room-by-room occupancy board, (b) bill allocation across housemates, (c) HMO licence-renewal reminder logic, (d) fire risk assessment / FRA storage, (e) Awaab’s Law SLA on damp-and-mould reports, (f) Section 8 readiness for arrears in joint tenancies. Scores normalised 0–100 with HMO-specific axes weighted 60% and general compliance 40%.

Top picks

1Best overall (HMO operations)

COHO

HMO and co-living, room-level operations native.

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2Best for HMO compliance + tax-prep

LetCompliance

HMO compliance, FRA, licence and Section 8 readiness.

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3Best PM suite that handles HMOs

Arthur

PM suite with HMO support.

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At a glance

Feature	COHO	LetCompliance	Arthur	Landlord Vision
Room-by-room occupancy board		Basic
Shared bill allocation across housemates			Basic	Basic
HMO licence renewal tracker	Basic
Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) storage with reminders	Basic			Basic
Awaab’s Law SLA engine Damp-and-mould response window now mandatory across the social rented sector and extending to PRS via RRA 2025.
Section 8 drafter (joint-tenancy aware)
Pricing starts at (2026)	See coho.life	£14.99/mo	£70/mo	£7.99/mo

The full ranking

1 Best overall (HMO operations)

COHO

HMO and co-living, room-level operations native.

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COHO is the only platform we tested that was built around HMOs from day one. Room-level occupancy boards, housemate matching, shared bill allocation and inclusive-rent reconciliation all just work. Compliance reminders are partial — there is no Section 8 / Form 6A drafter and no Awaab’s Law SLA engine — but for HMO-only operators the operations layer is so far ahead that it earns rank 1. Many serious HMO operators pair COHO with a compliance tool.

Strengths

Best-in-class room-by-room occupancy and housemate fit.
Shared bill allocation and inclusive-rent reconciliation.
HMO-native UI — no single-let baggage.

Gaps

No Form 6A / Section 8 drafter.
No Awaab’s Law SLA engine.
No Section 24 / SA105 tax toolkit.

Pricing: See coho.life.
Best for: Operators running HMO-only or co-living buildings.

Read the full LetCompliance vs COHO comparison

2 Best for HMO compliance + tax-prep

LetCompliance

HMO compliance, FRA, licence and Section 8 readiness.

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LetCompliance handles HMOs as a first-class case (multi-tenancy per address, room labels, per-tenant rent, licence tracker, FRA storage) and adds the missing layer COHO does not ship: Form 6A, Section 8 drafter with grounds, Section 13, Awaab’s Law SLA engine and the RRA 2025 Information Sheet workflow. Where COHO leads on operations, we lead on the compliance and tax-prep layer that surrounds them. For a mixed portfolio (HMO + single lets), LetCompliance alone is usually enough; for HMO-only operators, COHO + LetCompliance is the common stack.

Strengths

0–100 compliance score per HMO with licence renewal logic.
FRA, fire-door inspection and Awaab’s Law SLA tracking.
Section 8 drafter with Ground 8 arrears auto-calculator on joint tenancies.
Section 24 + SA105 + MTD ITSA toolkit.

Gaps

Room-level occupancy is functional but not the COHO-style depth.
No shared bill allocation across housemates.

Pricing: £14.99/mo from 2 properties (2026).
Best for: Mixed portfolios with HMOs alongside single lets, or HMO operators who want the compliance and tax layer.

3 Best PM suite that handles HMOs

Arthur

PM suite with HMO support.

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Arthur supports HMO multi-tenancy and adds the rent collection, maintenance and tenant portal layer. It does not match COHO’s operational depth on room-level occupancy and bill splits, and it does not match LetCompliance on Section 8 / Form 6A / Awaab’s Law. For mid-size agencies running HMOs alongside single lets, Arthur is a credible "one tool" answer that trades depth for breadth.

Strengths

HMO multi-tenancy supported in a full PM suite.
Rent collection, maintenance and tenant portal in one product.
Multi-branch agency model.

Gaps

No Awaab’s Law SLA engine.
No Form 6A / Section 8 drafter.
Pricing starts £70/mo (50 units) — not for solo HMO operators.

Pricing: From £70/mo Standard (50 units, 2026).
Best for: Agencies running HMOs alongside single lets in one tool.

Read the full LetCompliance vs Arthur comparison

4 Best for HMO accounting + MTD ITSA

Landlord Vision

Accounting-first PM with HMO room tracking.

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Landlord Vision supports HMO room-level tracking and pairs it with HMRC-recognised MTD ITSA submission and Open Banking reconciliation. The HMO operations are competent rather than category-leading, but for HMO landlords whose primary pain is accounting + filing, Landlord Vision is a sensible single-product answer.

Strengths

HMO room-level tracking inside an HMRC-recognised MTD ITSA filer.
Open Banking reconciliation across rent and bills.
Joint-ownership splits handled natively.

Gaps

HMO ops not as deep as COHO.
No Form 6A / Section 8 drafter or Awaab’s Law engine.

Pricing: From £7.99/mo Starter (4 tenancies, +VAT, 2026).
Best for: HMO landlords who want filing + room tracking in one tool.

Read the full LetCompliance vs Landlord Vision comparison

FAQs

Do I need HMO-specific software, or will general PM software do?

For 1–2 small HMOs, a general PM tool plus a compliance tool is usually enough. For 5+ HMOs or any co-living building, the room-level operations — housemate fit, shared bill allocation, inclusive-rent reconciliation — start paying for themselves and a dedicated HMO product (COHO) earns its place.

Does Awaab’s Law apply to private HMOs?

Awaab’s Law currently bites in the social rented sector and is being extended to the PRS via the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 implementation programme. The fixed response windows for damp-and-mould reports already represent current best practice and many local authorities will treat them as the de facto standard from 2026 onwards — software that tracks the SLA clock is a sensible hedge.

How does HMO licence tracking differ from a normal certificate reminder?

HMO licences run for up to 5 years and are tied to a specific named operator and address. Renewal applications must be submitted before expiry to avoid an unlicensed-HMO charge (up to £30k civil penalty + Rent Repayment Order). The reminder logic in compliance software needs to fire 90+ days before expiry to leave room for the council process — a generic "30 days before" diary entry is not enough.

Can I run COHO and LetCompliance together?

Yes — this is the most common HMO-operator stack. COHO handles room-level operations, housemate matching and bill splits; LetCompliance handles compliance scoring, licence tracking, FRA, Awaab’s Law SLA and the Section 8 / Form 6A drafting layer. We export and accept CSVs both ways.

What about Article 4 areas — do these tools handle them?

Article 4 directions remove permitted-development rights to convert a property to a small HMO. None of these tools file the planning permission for you, but LetCompliance flags Article 4 areas at the address-tagging stage and reminds you to check planning before converting. COHO and Arthur do not.

Try LetCompliance for free

14-day free trial, no card needed. See how the compliance score and Section 8 toolkit handle your portfolio before committing.

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