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A Tenants Guide to HMOs
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1. Introduction - what is an HMO?
‘HMO’ stands for House in Multiple Occupation.
That is a bit of a misnomer though as the property does not have to be a house. You can have an HMO, which is a flat.
An HMO is basically defined as a property where you have three or more people who share living accommodation who form two or more ‘households’
A household is basically people who are related and their live-in employees (if they have any)
Let’s take a look at some examples:
Situations that will NOT create an HMO:
- Husband, wife and two children
- Husband, wife and child with live-in nanny
- Same-sex couple and foster child
- A brother and sister and their cousin
- Brother and half-sister with half-sister’s baby son
- Two unrelated friends.
These are all (apart from the second example where the last person is a live-in employee and the last example) one household because they are all related. Half-blood relatives, stepchildren and foster children all count as part of the household.
As regards the final example, the legislation specifically says you cannot have an HMO with just two people.
Situations that WILL create an HMO
- Husband, wife and wife’s best friend
- Single parent Mum and baby daughter with lodger
- Husband, wife with child and former live-in nanny who is now working in a bank
The reason these situations will create an HMO is that the total number of occupiers are three or more and there are two or more ‘households’.
So the ‘best friend’ is not a relative or a live-in employee – so she will be a separate household. So will the lodger – who will be someone (presumably) outside the family. In the third example, it would have been an HMO while the third person was the live-in nanny but now she is just a lodger so that no longer applies. She will be treated as a separate household.
Note that whether a property is an HMO or not will not depend on whether it is a tenancy or a license – for example, someone taking in more than two lodgers will have an HMO.
It also does not depend on what sort of tenancy you have. For example, it is often thought that if you rent out a property on a room only basis with shared use of common parts, this will always be an HMO. But this is not so, for example, if the tenants are three sisters, this will not create an HMO – because they are sisters, they will count as one household.
However, if three unrelated people share a flat where they all sign the same tenancy agreement – that WILL be an HMO. Landlords cannot avoid creating an HMO by getting all their tenants to sign the same agreement.
The type of HMO discussed in this paragraph is the main type of HMO found in residential property, and when we talk about ‘HMOs’, this tends to be the type of HMO we mean.
It is set out in exhaustive detail in section 254 of the Housing Act 2004. So we will refer to them as section 254 HMOs.
However, confusingly, there are several other types of HMO. Let’s take a look at these quickly.
2. Other sorts of HMO
Section 257 HMOs
This is set out in section 257 of the Housing Act 2004. It is where
- A property has been converted to flats, and
- The building does not comply with the 1991 Building Regulations (in most cases this means properties converted before June 1992), and
- Where one third or more of the flats are rented on a lease of less than 21 years.
Where these situations apply, a property may need to obtain an HMO license. However, when we discuss licensing below we will be discussing this mainly in the context of section 254 HMOs.
HMOs for Council Tax purposes
There used to be a separate definition of HMO for Council Tax purposes.
However, in the Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings and Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023, this was changed, and the definition is now as defined in section 254 of the Housing Act 2004.
These regulations took effect from 1 December 2023.
Note, though, that it is landlords (not tenants) who are (in most cases) responsible for Council Tax if the property is a House in Multiple Occupation.
HMO’s for planning purposes
We mention this for completeness but for the most part, the planning definition is the same as the s254 definition.
In the rest of this article, assume that we are discussing section 254 HMOs (the types described in the first section of this article).
3. The HMO Management Regulations
Special rules apply to HMOs (that is, section 254 HMOs) because it is believed, with some justification, that most of the problems with rented property tend to occur where properties are let out to groups of people who are not related to each other.
There are, therefore, special rules which apply to landlords regarding the management of their HMO properties, which are set out in The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006. There are similar regulations for HMOs in Wales.
These regulations set out various things that HMO landlords or managers (if the landlord is not the person who manages the property) are supposed to do.
These include:
- Keeping fire escapes clear and free from obstruction
- Making sure that roofs or balconies are safe (or if they are unsafe, prevent access to them)
- Putting bars (or other protection) on windows with low cills to prevent people from falling out of them
- Ensuring that the water supply, water fittings and drainage are well maintained and in good condition
- Getting regular gas and electricity safety inspections carried out (in accordance with the relevant regulations) regularly, provide copies to you and ensuring that the supply is uninterrupted
- Maintaining the common parts of the property, and the landlord’s fixtures and fittings, in a good and safe condition
- Ensuring that your living accommodation is in good condition – where tenants have ‘exclusive occupation (i.e., can keep the landlord out) this will apply to the start of the tenancy only
- Making sure that there are enough bins for the rubbish and having in place arrangements for rubbish to be collected by the Local Authority bin men.
These are in addition to the landlord’s other obligations regarding the condition of the property, which we discuss in this article.
There are a few other things to say about these regulations
They apply to ALL HMOs
So not just those HMOs which need a license.
Landlords often do not understand this. Sometimes they think that because they have been told that they do not need an HMO license, they do not have an HMO at all. Also, many landlords have never heard of these management regulations.
However, they are important. If your landlord is clearly not complying with them, you can notify your Local Authority, who will decide whether or not to take action.
YOU have obligations under the regulations, too
Section 10 of the regulations says that occupiers must co-operate with landlords and not make it difficult for them to comply with their obligations.
Clearly, in order to carry out their obligations, landlords will need to have access to the property – both for themselves and also for their workmen and inspectors (for the gas and electricity inspections).
So you should not prevent this. You must also:
- Allow landlords and their staff or agents access to carry out their legal obligations
- Not do anything that will hinder this
- Provide your landlord (or his agent) with any information they may need for this
- Avoid damaging things
- Deal with your rubbish properly, and
- Comply with any rules your landlord or his agent may set as regards fire safety (i.e., not block fire escapes with bicycles and prams or remove closing devices on fire doors!)
It’s also worth saying here that if you live in the type of HMO where you rent your own room and share common parts of the property, you do not have the right to keep your landlord (and his agents and staff) out of the common parts.
Your right to ‘exclusive occupation’ (if you have a tenancy) will only apply to your own room.
Landlords should, if possible, give prior notice of their visits and should confine their visits to those necessary for the management of the property. But apart from your own room, you do not have the right to keep them out.
4. Licensing
What is it?
In some circumstances (discussed below) landlords need to get a license from their Local Authority/Council allowing them to run their property as an HMO.
This is pretty unpopular with landlords as they have to pay a fee (which varies from Local Authority to Local Authority), and generally the Local Authority will impose conditions. For example, requiring the landlord to carry out various improvements and safety measures.
Most decent landlords, however much they may object to licensing, will comply with the law and the Local Authority requirements. However, not all.
- Often, amateur landlords (generally ‘accidental landlords’ and those who only have one property) may not be aware of the rules and may fail to license out of ignorance
- Many ‘dodgy’ letting agents and landlords may be aware of the requirement to license, but don’t do so, hoping that they will be able to get away with it
- Criminal landlords (of which there are quite a few) will just ignore all rules and run their properties so as to extract the maximum income with the minimum outlay.
We will have a look at what you can do about this later, but first, let’s take a look at the various kinds of licensing. Although
- Mandatory licensing – If an HMO has five or more occupiers who form two or more ‘households’, then the property must be licensed.
In Wales, there is an additional requirement that the property has three or more ‘storeys’. So this will mean any storey within the property which is used or adapted for living accommodation (and may also include mezzanine levels).
- Additional Licensing – This is where the Local Authority has a special scheme (which has to be approved after the proper consultation and other formalities) that provides for HMOs where there are fewer than five occupiers. Or perhaps if they want purpose-built flats (see below) to be included.
Usually, these schemes just apply to a particular ward in a Local Authority area.
- Selective licensing – This is where all landlords renting in a particular area must get a license, whether or not the property is an HMO. Again, Local Authorities have to consult first and then make an application for this, which must be approved by the government.
Purpose-built flats fall outside the mandatory licensing scheme and so will only need to be licensed (however many occupiers there are) if there is an additional or selective licensing scheme in place.
How to find out the situation regarding YOUR home
The only real way to do this is to speak to your Local Authority – you can find out who they are and their details from this page on the gov.uk website here.
Local Authorities are supposed to have a record of all the landlords who are licensed, and sometimes you will find this on the Local Authority website (although it may be quite hard to find).
However, the best thing to do is just ring up and ask. Local Authority staff are usually very sympathetic to tenants, so there is no need to be scared of doing this!
5. Your remedies - property condition
If your property is in a shocking condition, you can ask your Local Authority to come out and carry out an inspection. Generally, it will be the Environmental Protection or Private Rented Sector department who do this – irritatingly, different Local Authorities tend to have different names for departments doing this work.
Normally, they will carry out a Housing Health and Safety Rating System inspection. This is discussed in more detail in our article on the property condition. However, if this shows up any breaches of the Management Regulations discussed above, they can order your landlord to comply and bring a prosecution or serve a penalty charge notice if they don’t.
Note, though, that you can’t bring any claim under the management regulations yourself; only the Local Authority can do this.
However, if they do, then their report and findings may be useful if you decide to bring a civil claim for compensation. Indeed, the Local Authority staff will often help and advise you on this.
If, as a result of their inspection, the Local Authority serves an Improvement Notice which your landlord does not comply with, this will trigger your right to apply for a Rent Repayment Order. Which, as they are more common for licensing breaches, we discuss below.
6. Your remedies - failure to license
The government is anxious to ensure that all landlords subject to licensing do actually get a license and so have brought in various penalties to encourage landlords to comply.
So the Local Authority can bring prosecutions and serve penalty charge notices for non-compliance.
However, the good news for you is that your landlord’s failure to license will entitle you to bring a claim for a Rent Repayment Order.
Rent Repayment Orders (RROs)
We are not going to go into a lot of detail here, and if you are considering making a claim, you should get legal advice first – some of the organisations on our further advice services page should be able to help. Or contact Justice for Tenants, who provide a no-win, no-fee service for tenant claims.
Here are just a few points and tips:
- Applications are made to the First Tier Tribunal (i.e., NOT the County Court). There is some general information on the First Tier Tribunal here. The forms and specific guidance on RROs are here.
- Your claim will be limited to 24 months rent – but that is quite a nice award to get!
- You will not get an award if you have not paid your rent. It is a rent REPAYMENT order. So if you have not paid you cannot get it repaid!
- Likewise, you can’t claim if your rent is paid by benefit/Universal Credit. As it is not you who paid the rent. In this case, your Local Authority will be able to make the application.
Local Authorities are supposed to assist tenants with Rent Repayment Orders, so speak to them first. Local Authorities vary widely in the help that they can give. You may find that their help is all you need.
If some of your rent has been paid by benefit and some by you, you may be able to bring a claim alongside your Local Authority claim, which could make things easier for you.
The Renters Rights Act 2025 imposed (in section 107) a legal obligation on Local Authorities to enforce the landlord legislation in their area. So expect more claims to be made by them.
Note by the way that the law relating to rent payment orders is a fast-moving area of law and recent decisions have changed the basis upon which awards are made (in tenants favour!).
We have an interview from November 2021 with housing barrister Brooke Lyne where we discuss Rent Repayment Orders and give advice on bringing a claim which you can see on our blog. Although helpful it is rather old now, so speak to a legal adviser or Justice for Tenants before doing anything.
7. HMO OccupationTypes
We suggested at the start of this article that you check your occupation type. The reason for this is that HMO landlords often assume (wrongly) that HMO occupiers will automatically have residential licenses.
However, this is not the case. If you are renting a room (your bedroom) in a shared house where you share some of the other parts of the property (e.g., the kitchen, bathroom, maybe a sitting room if you are lucky), you will by default have a tenancy.
It is possible for this to be a residential licence if:
- You share living accommodation with your landlord (i.e., if you are a lodger)
- Your occupation agreement provides for your landlord to provide services which require them to access your room (i.e., cleaning) AND these services are actually provided, and/or
- Your occupation agreement provides for your landlord to move you to another room, AND this is sometimes done.
Note by the way that hotel rooms are not tenancies because cleaners go in during the day to do the cleaning (although they can be tenancies if this is not done).
Let’s take a look at some examples.
Eddie’s case:
Eddie rents a cheap room in a large house he shares with five other men who all rent their own room under separate agreements and have the right to use the communal kitchen and bathroom.
Eddie’s contract says that the landlord will provide cleaning services and that he has a residential license. However, although there is a cleaner who comes in once or twice a month, she only ever cleans the kitchen and bathroom and never enters the bedrooms.
Apart from the cleaner and occasionally the manager (who deals with renting rooms which have become empty) the landlord and his staff never visit the property and no one but Eddie ever enters his room.
Occupation type: This will almost certainly be a tenancy as despite what his agreement says, in practice, he has what lawyers call ‘exclusive occupation’ of his room. Eddie will have an assured periodic tenancy.
Sarah’s case:
Sarah lives in an upmarket serviced apartment which is let fully furnished. A cleaner comes in daily to clean the apartment, make the beds and empty the bins. Sheets and towels are provided and changed weekly. Management staff will also enter the property from time to time to carry out repair and maintenance works, change lightbulbs when needed and deal with any issues raised by Sarah.
Occupation type: This will almost certainly be a residential license, as staff enter the apartment regularly to carry out the cleaning and other services.
Landlords often misunderstand the law and believe that if occupiers have a residential license, they can be evicted on short notice without obtaining a court order for possession.
Whereas there are only a very few circumstances where a possession order is not required (these include lodgers sharing living accommodation with their landlords and genuine holiday lets). The relevant law is set out in the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, and the exceptions can be found in section 3A.
So if a landlord tries to evict you without obtaining a court order for possession, this is unlawful, and you can claim compensation. You can seek help from some of the organisations set out in our Further Advice Services article.
This is also something you can base a claim for a rent repayment order on – so contact Justice for Tenants!
Note also that the landlords who provide ‘license agreements’ when occupiers actually have a tenancy are breaking the law. They are known as ‘sham licenses’, and landlords have been prosecuted and fined for this.
8. A summary of your rights:
If you are reading this article it may be because you live in an HMO and are experiencing problems. Here is a quick rundown of your rights:
If your landlord is claiming you have a license
Particularly if he is threatening to throw you out, check your occupation type. However even if you have a license, you still have rights. In particular, your landlord must serve the proper form of notice and obtain a possession order through the courts.
To get help – contact your Local Authority. They can prosecute your landlord for using ‘sham licenses’ and advise and help you if you are being unlawfully evicted.
If your property is in poor condition
Particularly if it is unsafe, your landlord will almost certainly be in breach of both the general health and safety standards and the HMO management regulations.
To get help – again contact your Local Authority. They can carry out an inspection and if they find issues, they can fine or prosecute your landlord if he does not put them right.
If your landlord has not got an HMO license
You first need to check that this is actually a requirement for your property, as not all HMOs require licensing.
However, if your landlord does not have a license when he should, you can bring a claim for a Rent Repayment Order via the First Tier Tribunal.
To get help – your Local Authority should be your first port of call, they should advise you and may be able to support your claim. Or contact Justice for Tenants.
Local Authority help
Much of the work of Local Authority private sector housing staff is dealing with substandard and illegal HMOs. However, as always with Local Authorities, some are much better resourced than others.
Since the coming into force of the Renters Rights Act, Local Authorities are required by law to carry out enforcement work. So if they fail to help or advise you, you can make a formal complaint (there will be a complaints procedure on their website somewhere),or complain to your Local Councillor, your MP or to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
You can find your Local Councillor here and find your MP here.
You may also want to reach out to any local tenant organisations who may be able to help you. Here are some that you could try:
Tenant and Renters’ Organisations:
Generation Rent – A national tenant campaigning organisation which campaigns for renters’ rights and provides information about housing issues affecting private tenants.
ACORN – A tenant and community union with branches across England. ACORN helps members challenge unlawful evictions, disrepair, rent issues and poor landlord or agent practices through collective action and support.
London Renters Union – A membership-based tenants’ union for London renters. Provides support with problems such as eviction threats, deposit disputes and housing conditions.
Greater Manchester Tenants Union – A regional tenants’ union supporting renters across Greater Manchester. Mentioned by the Renters Reform Coalition as a source of support for tenants.
And finally
Justice for tenants can help by giving free advice and help, and in particuarl can act for you in rent repayment order claims on a no win no fee basis.
9. And finally
Although you have rights you sometimes need to be careful about enforcing them. If you are unfortunate enough to be living in a property owned or managed by a criminal landlord, they will not be minded to comply with the law.
It is not unknown for criminal landlords to change the locks while tenants are out and refuse to return their possessions (or even destroy them). Some criminal landlords may also be violent.
Under the new rules, Local Authorities will be more likely to help, but even so, it may be hard in practice to enforce your rights against these people.
Sometimes it is best just to try to move elsewhere, without antagonising them (your Local Authority should be able to help, so do contact them). It’s all very well making a stand and fighting for your rights, but you need to think first about what will be the best outcome for YOU.
Hopefully, however, your landlord will not be one of these criminal landlords, and you will be able to deal with any problems as set out above.
This is the end of this article.
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