HMO licence rules for landlords: who actually needs one
Ask a self-managing landlord in England who needs an HMO licence and most describe a big converted house with six bedsits. Plenty of three-bedroom shares need one too, and the only way to know is to check.
Last reviewed 27 July 2026 · England
The word HMO conjures a particular image: a large Victorian conversion, a fire door on every landing, a licence plate’s worth of paperwork. That picture is correct for one type of licence and misses two others entirely, which is how a landlord letting an ordinary three-bedroom house to three sharers ends up unlicensed without ever deciding to be.
The property itself doesn’t change. Its postcode does the deciding: which council it falls under, and what that council has chosen to require there. That’s the kind of detail that doesn’t show up on the standard landlord compliance checklist because it isn’t the same for every landlord. This is England-only guidance, and even within England it varies council to council.
Three licences, not one
| Licence type | Triggered by | Set by |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory HMO licensing | 5 or more tenants forming 2 or more households, sharing facilities | National rule, applies everywhere |
| Additional licensing | Smaller HMOs, often just 3 or 4 tenants in 2 or more households | Local council, area by area |
| Selective licensing | Any rented property in a designated area, HMO or not | Local council, area by area |
Mandatory HMO licensing is the one every landlord has heard of, and it’s the narrowest: 5 or more tenants, forming 2 or more households, sharing a kitchen or bathroom. Below that threshold, a house can still need a licence if the council has an additional licensing scheme running in that area, and a scheme like that can reach down to houses with just 3 tenants. Selective licensing is a separate scheme again, and it isn’t about sharing at all: a council can require a licence for any rented property in a designated area, single let or not.
The assumption that catches landlords out
A landlord who reads about mandatory licensing, checks their tenant count, sees 3 or 4, and concludes they’re exempt has read the rule correctly and still landed on the wrong answer. Mandatory licensing genuinely doesn’t apply to them. Whether their council’s additional or selective licensing scheme applies is a separate question, answered by the council, not by the national threshold.
Scheme boundaries also move. A council can introduce or renew a licensing scheme, expanding which streets or property types it covers, and a house that was outside the boundary two years ago can be inside it now. Nothing arrives to tell a landlord this has happened. The first sign is often a council letter, which is the same pattern behind most compliance failures that land as a surprise: not a landlord ignoring a rule, but a rule changing quietly underneath a property they thought they understood.
Checking your own property
No national register lets a landlord check once and be done. Licensing decisions are made and published locally, so the only reliable check is the council the property actually sits in.
- Count the tenants and households. Unrelated sharers each form their own household.
- Search the council’s own website for “HMO licence” or “landlord licensing”, or phone their private housing or environmental health team directly.
- Ask specifically whether an additional or selective licensing scheme covers the property’s postcode, not just whether mandatory licensing applies.
- Repeat the check periodically. Scheme boundaries and thresholds change over time.
Once you have one
Most councils issue HMO licences for five years, tied to the property and the named licence holder, so a change of landlord or a change in how the house is let can mean reapplying before the term is up. Unlike gas, electrical or energy certificates, there is no single fixed validity period set nationally, which makes the renewal date something a landlord has to track themselves rather than infer from the certificate type. CertSorted holds that renewal date alongside every other certificate on one screen, so it’s a date you’re reminded about rather than one you have to remember.