HMO licensing in England: mandatory, additional and selective licensing explained

In England, a house in multiple occupation (HMO) let to five or more people who form more than one household must have a licence from the council, and councils can require licences for smaller HMOs and for ordinary rented homes in areas they designate. That gives three kinds of licensing, mandatory, additional and selective, and a property can need a licence even when nothing about it has changed, because a scheme started in its street. This guide sets out the rules in England: what counts as an HMO, what each kind of licensing covers, how to check a council’s schemes, and what a licence asks of the landlord. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules, summarised near the end. The GOV.UK guidance on HMOs and the HMO licence page are the starting points for the England rules.

What counts as an HMO

In England, a property is an HMO if both of these apply: at least three tenants live there, forming more than one household, and they share toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities. A household is a single person, or members of the same family living together, which includes couples. So three unrelated sharers are an HMO; a couple and their two children are not. Flats can be HMOs too, and some converted buildings are HMOs because of how they were converted.

The three kinds of licensing

Mandatory licensing

Every council in England must license what the law calls a large HMO: one occupied by five or more people forming more than one household, who share facilities, where at least one of them pays rent. Since October 2018 the number of storeys does not matter, so a flat above a shop can qualify. The one exception in the regulations is a purpose built flat in a block of three or more self contained flats.

Additional licensing

A council can extend licensing to HMOs that fall outside the mandatory scheme, for example three or four sharers, in all or part of its area. It does this by designating the area for additional licensing, which lasts no more than five years before it ends or is renewed. Inside the area, a smaller HMO needs a licence just as a large one does.

Selective licensing

Selective licensing reaches beyond HMOs to ordinary privately rented homes, such as a house let to one family, in a designated area. The government’s guide for councils allows a scheme where an area has low housing demand, significant and persistent antisocial behaviour, poor housing conditions, high levels of migration, high deprivation or high crime. A scheme lasts up to five years. Since 23 December 2024 a council no longer needs the Secretary of State’s confirmation for a scheme of any size, provided it has consulted for at least ten weeks.

How to check whether a council scheme covers your property

1. Find the council. The GOV.UK licence page takes a postcode and links to the right council’s licensing service.
2. Read its licensing pages. Look for any additional or selective licensing scheme, the map or list of streets it covers, and its start and end dates. A council can run more than one scheme at once, covering different areas.
3. Check the designation notice. A council must publish a notice within seven days of confirming a selective scheme, and it is the most precise statement of which areas and dates are covered.
4. Check the public register. Every council must keep a register of the licences it has granted, open to public inspection. It is a quick way to see whether a property you are taking on is already licensed, and to whom.
5. Ask in writing if unsure. Boundaries follow streets, not postcodes, and a written answer from the council’s private housing team is worth keeping on the property’s file.
6. Diary the scheme’s end date. Schemes end and are often renewed or replaced, sometimes with different boundaries. A scheme’s end date is a date to check again, just like a licence expiry.

Licensing is separate from planning. A licence does not grant planning permission for a property’s use as an HMO, so check the planning position with the same council.

Applying for and renewing a licence

• Who applies: usually the landlord, though a managing agent can apply on the landlord’s behalf.
• Fees: set by each council, and different for new applications and renewals.
• Fit and proper: the council must be satisfied that the licence holder and the manager, whether that is the landlord or an agent, are fit and proper persons, for example with no relevant criminal record or breach of landlord law.
• Suitable for the numbers: the property must be suitable for the number of occupants given its size and facilities, and the licence states the maximum.
• One licence per HMO, valid for a maximum of five years, and the council can set a shorter term. Apply to renew before the current licence runs out.
• Inspection: the council must carry out a Housing Health and Safety Rating System risk assessment within five years of receiving the application, and any serious hazards it finds must be dealt with.

A landlord who is about to stop the property being licensable, for example by reducing the number of occupiers, can ask the council for a temporary exemption notice. It lasts three months, and where the council considers there are exceptional circumstances it can serve one further notice for another three months.

What a licence asks of you

Every HMO licence in England carries conditions the law requires, including:

• Gas safety: send the council the current gas safety certificate every year.
• Smoke alarms: install and maintain them, and keep them in working order. Licensed HMOs meet the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm rules through these conditions.
• Electrical safety: provide safety certificates for electrical appliances when the council asks.
• Room sizes: no room used for sleeping by one person over ten may be smaller than 6.51 square metres, or 10.22 square metres for two people over ten; 4.64 square metres for one child under ten; and no room under 4.64 square metres can be used for sleeping at all.
• Waste: follow any scheme the council provides for storing and disposing of household waste.

Councils add their own conditions on top, such as fire safety measures, amenities or management standards, and tell you when you apply. The fire side, including the fire risk assessment for shared areas, is in the fire safety guide for HMOs and shared areas. A condition you disagree with can be appealed to the tribunal. You must also tell the council about changes to the property or to the occupiers’ circumstances during the licence.

What happens without a licence

In England, letting a licensable property without a licence is a criminal offence with an unlimited fine on prosecution, or the council can impose a civil penalty instead, of up to £40,000 for offences committed since 1 May 2026. Tenants, or the council where rent was paid by housing benefit or universal credit, can apply for a rent repayment order, which for offences since 1 May 2026 can reach 24 months’ rent. The figures and their sources are on the landlord fines and penalties page.

The record to keep for a licensed property

• The licence, its number, its start and expiry dates, and the conditions attached.
• The maximum occupancy and the room sizes the licence was granted on.
• Each year’s gas safety certificate and the date it was sent to the council.
• Alarm tests, fire safety checks and any other condition with a date on it.
• Any scheme the property sits in, with the scheme’s end date, and the council’s written answers.

The landlord compliance checklist puts licensing beside the duties that apply to every let.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Each nation licenses HMOs in its own way, and the point at which a licence is needed differs from England.

• Wales: the HMO definition is the same as England’s, from section 254 of the Housing Act 2004, but mandatory licensing covers only HMOs of three or more storeys occupied by five or more people forming two or more households. Councils can extend licensing to other HMOs, a licence lasts at most five years, and running an unlicensed HMO is an offence with an unlimited fine. The civil penalty described above is for England only. HMO landlords in Wales also need Rent Smart Wales registration, and either their own Rent Smart Wales licence or a licensed agent, on top.
• Scotland: every HMO needs a licence from the council under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, unless an exemption applies. An HMO is a home where three or more people from more than two families live as their only or main residence (in shared premises, sharing a toilet, washing or cooking facilities), and students’ term time homes count. Running an unlicensed HMO can bring a fine of up to £50,000, and the council also has powers to suspend rent.
• Northern Ireland: HMOs are licensed under the Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, in operation since 1 April 2019. An HMO is a home where three or more people from more than two households live as their only or main residence and at least one pays rent. Every HMO needs a licence unless a temporary exemption notice is in effect, and the NIHMO unit at Belfast City Council handles licensing for all 11 councils. A licence lasts up to five years, the council checks that the landlord and any agent are fit and proper to let property, and running an unlicensed HMO is an offence with a fine of up to £20,000, for the owner and for an agent who knowingly facilitates its occupation.

Where this lives in Verixad

In Verixad a property can be recorded as an HMO, and a letting agency can set which documents each type of property must hold, so an HMO without a current fire risk assessment shows as a gap rather than waiting to be noticed. The licence itself is filed on the property’s record, and its renewal, and the end date of any scheme the property sits in, can each be a task with a due date and an owner. Deciding whether a property is licensable stays with you and the council.

General information rather than legal advice. The England rules were checked on 23 October 2026 against GOV.UK, the government’s selective licensing guidance and legislation.gov.uk; the Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland summary on 26 and 27 October 2026 against the Welsh Government, Rent Smart Wales, Belfast City Council and legislation.gov.uk. Council schemes change often, so always confirm the current position with the council.