Shared houses are some of the most closely regulated homes in England. Whether a house needs a licence depends on how many people live there, how many households they form and where the house is. This guide explains each type of licence, the standards that come with it, who should hold it, and what happens when one is missing.
What counts as an HMO
A house in multiple occupation is a home rented by at least three people who are not from one household, such as a family, and who share facilities like a kitchen or bathroom (GOV.UK).
Being an HMO does not on its own mean a licence is needed. That depends on the number of occupiers and households, and on whether your council runs its own schemes.
Mandatory licensing
In England, an HMO occupied by five or more people forming two or more households needs a mandatory licence from the council, whatever the number of storeys. Purpose-built flats in blocks of three or more flats are excluded. This has applied since 1 October 2018 (legislation.gov.uk).
What a licence involves
- A licence lasts up to five years, and each HMO needs its own.
- The manager must be a fit and proper person.
- Gas safety certificates go to the council each year, and smoke alarms must be maintained.
- Councils can add their own conditions to the licence.
Letting an HMO that should be licensed but is not can mean an unlimited fine (GOV.UK).
Additional and selective licensing
Councils can go further than the national rules. Additional licensing, under section 56 of the Housing Act 2004, covers smaller HMOs in a designated area. Selective licensing, under section 80, can cover every privately rented home in an area. A council must consult for at least 10 weeks, and a designation lasts up to five years (GOV.UK).
Since 23 December 2024, councils in England no longer need the Secretary of State’s approval for additional or selective schemes of any size, as long as they have consulted for at least 10 weeks. The General Approval 2024 replaced a 2015 approval under which selective schemes covering more than 20% of an area, or of its private rented homes, needed sign-off (MHCLG).
| Licence | What it covers | Who decides | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandatory | HMOs with five or more people forming two or more households | National rules, applied by every council | Licence up to 5 years |
| Additional | Smaller HMOs in a designated area | The council, after at least 10 weeks’ consultation | Designation up to 5 years |
| Selective | Every privately rented home in a designated area | The council, after at least 10 weeks’ consultation | Designation up to 5 years |
Room sizes and licence conditions
Licensed HMOs in England must meet minimum floor areas for every room used for sleeping (legislation.gov.uk):
| Who sleeps there | Minimum floor area |
|---|---|
| One person over 10 | 6.51 m² |
| Two people over 10 | 10.22 m² |
| One child under 10 | 4.64 m² |
| Any room under 4.64 m² | Cannot be used for sleeping |
These conditions apply to mandatory and additional licences. Councils can set higher standards but not lower ones, and communal space cannot make up for a small bedroom (GOV.UK).
Who holds the licence
The council grants the licence to someone it is satisfied is fit and proper and the most appropriate person to hold it. Unless shown otherwise, it must assume that the person having control of the house is more appropriate than someone without control (section 66).
The person having control is the one receiving the rack-rent, meaning at least two thirds of the full net annual value of the house (section 263). In a rent-to-rent arrangement that is often the operator rather than the owner, but it depends on the rents involved, so take advice on your own set-up. Our rent-to-rent guide covers this in more depth.
Fire safety and management duties
The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 put duties on the manager. Under regulation 4, they must (legislation.gov.uk):
- keep escape routes free from obstruction and in good repair
- keep firefighting equipment and fire alarms in good working order
- display notices showing the escape route where there are more than four occupiers.
In buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises, such as converted flats, the responsible person has had to give residents fire safety instructions and information about fire doors since 23 January 2023 (GOV.UK).
The general alarm rules for private lets apply too: at least one smoke alarm on each storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker, checked on the day each tenancy starts (GOV.UK).
Common parts also need a fire risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The usual benchmark is the 2008 LACORS guide, Housing: Fire Safety, which is guidance rather than law. Breaching the management regulations can lead to a civil penalty of up to £40,000 (legislation.gov.uk).
Planning: C4 and Article 4
Planning is a separate question from licensing. Use class C4 covers a home used as an HMO by not more than six residents, which the Planning Portal describes as three to six unrelated people sharing basic amenities. HMOs with more than six residents fall outside the use classes, as sui generis, and need planning permission (legislation.gov.uk).
Changing a family home in class C3 to a small HMO in class C4 is normally permitted development. Councils can remove that right in an area with an Article 4 direction, so the change then needs planning permission. Directions are local and not retrospective (legislation.gov.uk).
Penalties and rent repayment orders
Instead of prosecuting, councils can impose a civil penalty, and since 1 May 2026 the maximum has been £40,000, up from £30,000. That covers HMO and selective licensing, the HMO management regulations, improvement notices and overcrowding (section 249A). Tenants can also apply for a rent repayment order of up to two years’ rent (Housing and Planning Act 2016, section 40).
Since 1 May 2026, tenants have two years from the offence to apply, rather than one, and repeat offenders must repay the maximum (GOV.UK). Across several tenants, two years of rent can be a large sum, which is why the licence position is worth settling before anyone moves in.
Owners further up the chain
Since 1 May 2026, the offence of having an unlicensed HMO covers anyone having control of or managing it, any landlord or licensor of an occupier, and any superior landlord. A superior landlord has a specific defence if they can prove they did not know, and had a reasonable excuse for not knowing, that it was an HMO, or that they took all reasonably practicable steps to get it licensed or had another reasonable excuse. A term in the tenancy or licence about the HMO is not on its own a defence (section 72).
Rent repayment orders can now be made against any superior landlord who committed the offence. That reverses the effect of the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Rakusen v Jepsen, which had held they could only be made against the immediate landlord (UK Supreme Court).
Student HMOs
For HMOs let to full-time students, Ground 4A lets a landlord seek possession to re-let to a new group of students between 1 June and 30 September. The landlord must have given prior written notice that the ground may be used, and the notice period is four months (GOV.UK).
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Wales: mandatory licensing covers HMOs of three or more storeys with five or more people in two or more households (legislation.gov.uk).
- Scotland: a licence is needed when three or more unrelated tenants share, and fines go up to £50,000 (mygov.scot).
- Northern Ireland: an HMO is the main home of three or more people who are not from the same family, and it needs a licence from the council (nidirect).
Whichever nation you let in, check the council’s own rules before the first tenant moves in. Licences are far easier to get right at the start than to fix after a complaint.
Where software helps
An HMO has more moving parts than any other let: a licence and its conditions, room sizes, fire safety duties and several tenancies at once. We build HMO landlords and operators one place for all of it, with reminders before anything lapses and records ready for the council.
Sources
- GOV.UK, House in multiple occupation licence · checked 23 Oct 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018, article 4
- legislation.gov.uk, Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018, regulation 2
- GOV.UK, HMO and residential property licensing reform: guidance for local housing authorities
- GOV.UK, Selective licensing in the private rented sector: a guide for local authorities · updated 16 Dec 2024
- MHCLG, Housing Act 2004 General Approval 2024 · 16 Dec 2024
- legislation.gov.uk, Housing Act 2004, section 66
- legislation.gov.uk, Housing Act 2004, section 72 · checked 23 Oct 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, Housing Act 2004, section 249A · checked 23 Oct 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, Housing and Planning Act 2016, section 40 · checked 23 Oct 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006, regulation 4
- GOV.UK, Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: fact sheet · updated 24 Jul 2023
- legislation.gov.uk, General Permitted Development Order 2015, Class L
- GOV.UK, Grounds for possession: guidance for landlords and letting agents · updated 1 May 2026
This guide summarises the law and official guidance as we understand it on 23 October 2026. It is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and individual situations differ, so check the sources above or take advice from a solicitor, accountant or your trade body before acting.