Licensing
What is an HMO licence?
An HMO licence is a local authority licence required for certain houses in multiple occupation. Mandatory licensing applies to larger HMOs, and councils may extend licensing to others in their area.
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<img src="https://propertyoptix.co.uk/glossary/hmo-licence/diagram.svg" alt="HMO licence — diagram from PropertyOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://propertyoptix.co.uk/glossary/hmo-licence">What is an HMO licence?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://propertyoptix.co.uk">PropertyOptix</a>
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</figure>Whether a property is an HMO is a legal question about occupation and sharing of facilities, not about how the property was built or marketed. A house let to sharers on one agreement can still be an HMO.
Licensing comes in layers: mandatory licensing set nationally, plus additional and selective schemes a council may introduce locally. Two identical properties in neighbouring boroughs can have entirely different requirements.
Licences carry conditions on amenities, occupancy and management, and breaching a condition is a separate offence from being unlicensed. Operating without a required licence can also lead to a rent repayment order and affects possession.
What goes wrong in practice
- A property assumed not to be an HMO because it is a single let, without checking the definition.
- Local additional or selective schemes not checked, so a licence is missed entirely.
- Licence conditions on occupancy breached when an extra tenant moves in.
- Renewal dates untracked, so a licence lapses and the property is unlicensed.