HMO Licensing Rules: A Landlord’s Guide

Shilpa Mathuradas

When do you need an HMO licence?

A House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) must have a mandatory licence where it is rented to five or more people who form more than one household, the tenants share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen, and at least one tenant pays rent. There is no minimum number of storeys: the storey requirement was removed in October 2018, so a one or two storey property can require a licence in the same way as a larger house.

Before that change, licensing applied only to HMOs of three or more storeys. The restrictions meant the problems the scheme was intended to address were not being reached. The scheme was introduced to tackle overcrowding, poor property management and the housing of illegal immigrants, and the storey threshold allowed rogue landlords to avoid local authority enforcement by letting smaller or single storey HMOs.

Your local council may also operate an additional or selective licensing scheme covering smaller properties, so check with the council for the area the property sits in as well as the mandatory rules below.

Mandatory HMO licence conditions

The following conditions apply to every mandatory HMO licence:

• A room with a usable floor area of less than 6.51m² cannot be occupied as sleeping accommodation by any person aged 10 or over
• Where a room is used as sleeping accommodation by two persons aged over 10, it must have a usable floor area of at least 10.22m²
• A room with a usable floor area of at least 4.64m² may be occupied by a child under 10, provided it is let or occupied in connection with another room of at least 6.51m² occupied by a parent or guardian of the child
• A room of less than 4.64m² cannot be used as sleeping accommodation at all
• When calculating usable floor area, any part of a room where the ceiling height is less than 1.5m is disregarded
• The licence must specify which rooms may be used as sleeping accommodation and the number of persons who may occupy each of them
• Suitable facilities must be provided for refuse storage and disposal

How long does an HMO licence last?

A mandatory HMO licence is valid for a maximum of five years and must be renewed before it expires. Operating a licensable HMO without a licence is a criminal offence and can also expose a landlord to a rent repayment order, under which a tenant or the local authority can reclaim up to twelve months’ rent.

What landlords should do

If you own or manage a property that is let to five or more people from more than one household, check whether it is licensable and apply as soon as possible if it is. There is no grace period. Room sizes should be measured against the conditions above before letting, since a licence will specify the permitted occupancy of each room.

Speak to us about HMO licensing

To find out more about HMO requirements, or about any other property issue, speak to our landlord and tenant solicitors. You can contact us on 020 7485 8811 or fill in our online enquiry form below.