Room by room, licence by licence.
An HMO is several lettings, a house full of people and a council licence under one roof. We build HMO landlords a rooms website that fills vacancies, a tracker for every licence condition and fire safety check, and a simple portal for tenants, so the whole house runs from one place.
An HMO is a small business in one house.
Good HMO landlords know every room and every tenant. The pressure is the paperwork the council expects, and keeping it straight across several houses at once.
Vacancies that drag
Each empty room is lost rent, and every viewing is arranged by message with someone who may not turn up.
Licence conditions on paper
Conditions on fire doors, alarms, room sizes and waste, read once when the licence arrived and hard to evidence later.
Fire safety logs by hand
Alarm tests and lighting checks that are easy to do and easy to lose, until an inspector asks to see them.
Bills and messages for the whole house
Energy, broadband and council tax paid for the house, and one group chat for every leak, noise complaint and late payment.
What we build for HMO landlords.
One house or twenty. Each piece shares the same records, so a fire safety test logged on a phone appears on the house's compliance board straight away.
Every condition, every test, every house.
One board for licences, licence conditions, fire safety checks, gas and electrical dates across all your houses. Green means done, amber means soon, red means now.
Each council's licence conditions turned into tasks, with evidence attached as you complete them.
Alarm tests, emergency lighting checks and fire door inspections recorded with the time and a photo.
Room sizes, who lives where and what each room is licensed for, kept with the house.
Licence renewals, gas and electrical checks flagged well ahead, to you or your manager.
The rules for HMOs, in one place.
Shared homes carry more rules than any other kind of rented home in England, set nationally and by your council. Here are the main ones, and where software takes the strain.
Mandatory HMO licensing
In England, an HMO with five or more people forming two or more households needs a council licence. Licensed bedrooms must be at least 6.51 m² for one adult and 10.22 m² for two, and letting an unlicensed HMO can bring a fine of up to £40,000.
Additional and selective licensing
Councils can license smaller HMOs, or every privately rented home in an area. Since 23 December 2024 they no longer need government approval to do so, after a 10-week consultation.
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
Every storey used as living accommodation needs a smoke alarm, and any room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker needs a carbon monoxide alarm. Alarms must be checked on the day a tenancy starts.
Source: GOV.UK, Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm regulations: guidance
Gas every year, electrics every five
A Gas Safe registered engineer must check gas appliances every 12 months, with the record to tenants within 28 days. Electrical installations must be inspected at least every five years, with reports to tenants within 28 days and fines of up to £40,000.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020, reg 3
Renters' Rights Act: the new tenancy system
Most private tenancies in England became assured periodic tenancies with no fixed end date, new and existing alike. Section 21 no-fault evictions ended, possession now uses section 8 grounds and Form 3A, and new tenants must get the key terms in writing.
Source: GOV.UK, Renters' Rights Act: an overview for landlords
Deposits protected within 30 days
Deposits must be protected in a government-approved scheme within 30 days, with the prescribed information given in the same period. Since 1 May 2026 an unprotected deposit also blocks a possession order.
Private Rented Sector Database
Landlords will register themselves and every let home, with gas, electrical and energy certificate evidence. Regions are planned to open in turn, from the West Midlands on 15 December 2026, with London from 15 July to 14 October 2027. The regulations still need Parliament's approval, and the government's planned fee is £65 per property per year. The landlord starts each registration, and an appointed letting agent can supply the property details.
Bigger fines and wider rent repayment orders
Councils can fine up to £7,000 for a first breach and up to £40,000 for serious or repeat ones, including unlicensed HMOs. Rent repayment orders now reach two years' rent and can be made against superior landlords, such as the owner at the top of a rent-to-rent chain.
A summary to show where software helps, not legal advice. Dates and figures checked against the sources shown on 23 October 2026.
One room, one tenant, nothing missed.
Follow a room from vacancy to licence renewal, and the records each step leaves behind.
Photos, rent with bills included, house rules and availability on your own rooms site.
Applicants choose a time online, and the house knows who is coming.
Referencing and Right to Rent checks recorded, written terms issued and the deposit protected.
A room inventory with photos, certificates shared and the tenant's own login set up.
Repairs reported with photos, fire safety tests logged and inspections booked.
Conditions met and evidence ready when the council's renewal comes round.
Property work that is live today.
Real websites and systems in use by UK property businesses.
Questions hmo landlords ask us.
Anything else, ask us on the call.
Can tenants book a viewing for a specific room online?
Can it track the conditions on our licence?
We log fire alarm tests on paper. Can that move to a phone?
Does a smaller shared house need a licence?
What are the minimum room sizes?
How do you handle bills-included rent?
What changed for HMOs under the Renters' Rights Act?
Keep reading
Tell us how you work today.
A short call, your screen and ours. We listen to how your week runs, show you what we would build, and give you a fixed price in writing.
- Built around your process, not a template
- Hosted, looked after and improved by us
- One UK studio from first call to launch
Prefer email? semir@bozmaps.com