HMO licence checker

Three or more tenants forming more than one household (so not all one family) who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet make a property an HMO under the Housing Act 2004. Whether that HMO needs a licence is a separate question that depends on size and local council schemes.

A mandatory HMO licence is required for any HMO with five or more occupants in two or more households sharing amenities, anywhere in England. Since 1 October 2018 this applies regardless of the number of storeys. The old three-storey condition was removed.

A household is one person living alone or members of the same family living together: couples (including unmarried and same-sex), parents, children, grandparents and certain other relatives. Unrelated professional sharers and most groups of students each count as a separate household, which is what tips a shared house into HMO territory.

No. A building occupied only by two people who form two households is not an HMO (Housing Act 2004, Schedule 14, paragraph 7), and a couple is one household. A council’s selective licensing scheme can still cover an ordinary let in its area, so check the council for the postcode.

Only if the council runs an additional licensing scheme where the property is. Three tenants from two or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet make the house an HMO, but the national mandatory licence starts at five people. Additional licensing lets a council require a licence for smaller HMOs in all or part of its area, so a three-person share can need one in one borough and not in the next. Three friends are three households; a couple and a friend are two.

The answer is the same as for three. Four tenants from two or more households sharing facilities make an HMO, one person short of the mandatory licence, and it needs a licence only where the council runs additional licensing. Check the council’s licensing page for the postcode before you let, and check planning as well, because an Article 4 Direction can mean a small HMO needs planning permission.

Yes, in England, if the five form two or more households and share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet: that is the mandatory licence, whatever the number of storeys (Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018). The exception is a purpose-built flat in a block of three or more flats, which is outside mandatory licensing but can still be caught by an additional licensing scheme. Apply before the fifth person moves in.

Not while you own the home, live in it and take no more than two lodgers. A building occupied only by its owner, members of the owner’s household and up to two other people is not an HMO (Housing Act 2004, Schedule 14, paragraph 6; the number two is set for England by regulation 6(2) of the 2006 HMO licensing regulations). A third lodger usually makes it one. The exception is for an owner, meaning the freeholder or a leaseholder on a lease of more than 21 years, so a tenant who takes in lodgers is not covered by it.

Usually, yes. Students living in a house for their course are treated as living there as their only or main residence (Housing Act 2004, section 259), so three or more students from more than one household sharing a kitchen or bathroom make it an HMO, and five or more need a mandatory licence. In England, halls and other buildings managed by a university or college, or by a manager specified in regulations, are taken out of the definition (Schedule 14, paragraph 3A). A house let to students by a private landlord is normally not covered by that exception.

Operating an HMO that needs a licence without one is a criminal offence with an unlimited fine. The council can instead impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000 for offences from 1 May 2026 (previously £30,000). The tenant or the council can also apply for a Rent Repayment Order, now up to two years’ rent for the period the offence continued from that date. Apply for the licence before you let.

Possibly. Selective licensing lets a council require a licence for all privately rented homes in a designated area, including single-family lets. Even a standard one-household tenancy needs a licence if it falls inside a selective licensing designation, so always check the council for the postcode.

It can. Converting a family dwelling (use class C3) to a small HMO of up to six people (C4) is permitted development in most areas, but where an Article 4 Direction is in force the council can require full planning permission. Larger HMOs (seven or more, "sui generis") generally need planning permission. Check both licensing and planning before converting.

A licence can be granted for up to five years, and a council can grant a shorter term. It is personal to the licence holder and does not pass to a buyer, so a new owner needs to apply. Note the expiry date when the licence arrives and apply for renewal well before it. In LetCompliance, from £7.99 a month, the licence sits on the property’s record and you are reminded 90, 30 and 7 days before it expires, with each room’s rent and arrears alongside.