Do all HMOs have to be licensed?

No. Under the new Housing Act 2004, which came into force in April 2006, there is now  three types of licensing:

1. Compulsory (required by law) licensing of HMOs for properties that are:

• 3 or more storeys high.

• Have five or more people in more than one household, and;

• Share amenities such as bathrooms, toilets and cooking facilities.

Please check the flow diagram to see if your property (or properties) needs to be licensed.

2. Additional licensing of HMOs.

• A discretionary power that Councils may decide to apply to a particular type of HMO, for example, two storey properties occupied by three or more students or asylum seekers.

3. Selective licensing of other residential accommodation.

• Properties that are not subject to HMO licensing would be covered under the selective licensing scheme. This is where the Council may declare that certain areas, for example, where there is low demand for housing and/or antisocial behaviour, are appropriate for selective licensing. This licensing would cover all forms of private rented housing, including HMOs.

• It is most likely that at first Councils will only introduce licenses for HMOs that fall into the first group. They may introduce the other two types of licensing later.

Please note that licensing only applies to HMOs where rents or other considerations are payable.

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