HMO Licence Checker England

What an HMO licence check is

An HMO licence check is a way of working out whether a shared property may need a House in Multiple Occupation licence, which council is responsible, and how to confirm the position. It usually answers two related questions: does this property need an HMO licence, and, where a licence is required, does the property already hold one?

The quickest starting points are the HMO checker tool, which walks through the occupancy questions, and the postcode checker, which matches a postcode to the relevant council and any schemes our data shows. For the wider legal background, the HMO licensing guide explains the rules in more depth.

When a property may need an HMO licence

A property is generally an HMO when it is occupied by three or more people who form more than one household and who share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom. Whether that HMO then needs a licence depends on its size and on the local council:

• Larger HMOs with five or more occupiers forming two or more households are subject to mandatory HMO licensing wherever they are in England.
• Smaller shared houses with three or four occupiers are likely to require checking against any local additional licensing scheme.
• Some standard rented homes may also need a selective licence in designated areas, separately from the HMO rules.

Check a postcode for HMO licensing

If the occupancy setup is the main uncertainty rather than the postcode, the HMO checker tool walks through the occupier and household questions first.

Mandatory HMO licensing

Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England to any HMO occupied by five or more people forming two or more separate households who share basic amenities. Since 2018 this has applied regardless of the number of storeys. If a property meets these criteria, a mandatory HMO licence is very likely to be required wherever it is, and you should confirm the details with the local council.

Additional licensing

Additional licensing is a local scheme that a council can introduce to bring smaller HMOs into licensing, typically those with three or four occupiers that the mandatory rules would not catch. These schemes vary: some cover a whole borough, others only specific wards. Use the additional licence checker and the relevant council page to see whether a smaller shared house is likely to require checking in a given area.

Selective licensing and HMOs

Selective licensing usually applies to standard privately rented homes in designated areas rather than to HMOs, but the two can overlap at a local level. A property may sit inside more than one scheme, so it is worth checking the HMO position and the selective licensing position together rather than assuming only one applies.

Why council rules vary

Mandatory HMO licensing is national, but additional and selective licensing are local decisions. Each council chooses whether to run them, where the boundaries fall, what the fees are, and which exemptions apply. This is why a property with three or four occupiers may need a licence in one area but not in a neighbouring one, and why an HMO check and a council-area check often need to be used together. Browse the council directory to see how the position differs by area.

How to check a property online

The most direct route is the council's public HMO register. Most councils that operate HMO licensing publish a searchable register of licensed properties online. To find the register for the relevant area:

1. Enter the postcode in the checker above to identify the council
2. Open the relevant council page on this site, where public register links are shown where we have them
3. Search the register by address or postcode
4. If no register is available online, contact the council's housing team directly

If a register link is not yet shown on the council page, go to the council website and search for "HMO register" or "licensed HMO properties". Most councils list this under housing or private renting. You can also compare how usable each register is on the council licensing registers page.

What to do if the public register is unclear

Registers are not standardised, so it is common to find one that is out of date, hard to search, or only available on request. If you cannot confirm a property:

• Send a short written enquiry to the council's housing or private rented sector team and keep their reply on file.
• Remember that an absence from a register is not always proof a licence is not required, so verify with the council rather than assuming.
• For a transaction or a higher-stakes decision, consider a paid report, which does the cross-referencing and gives you a dated written position with a council enquiry template.

How Licence Checker England helps

Licence Checker England brings the moving parts of HMO licensing into one place. The free tools match a postcode to its council and surface the schemes our data shows. The council pages pull together fees, scheme records, and public register links where available. The guides explain the rules, and the licensing updates page tracks proposed and changing schemes. We are an independent information service, not a council, so the final position should always be confirmed with the local authority.

HMO licence checker FAQs