Does my shared house need a licence?

Everywhere in England a house or flat shared by 5 or more people from 2 or more households, sharing a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a mandatory HMO licence. Smaller shared houses need one where the council has an additional licensing scheme, and in a selective licensing area every privately rented home needs one. The council's licensing page says which schemes it runs.

How do I find out whether my home has a licence?

Councils must keep a public register of the licences they grant. Many publish it online; the licence checker on this site reads the registers of the councils that publish theirs as a file. You can also ask the landlord for the licence number and dates, or ask the council's private sector housing team.

My address isn't on the register. Is the home unlicensed?

Not necessarily. Registers lag behind decisions, an application may be pending, a temporary exemption notice may be in force, the home may not need a licence, and a register holds only the licence types it covers. The council can confirm whether a licence or an application exists.

What can happen if a home needed a licence and didn't have one?

Letting it is an offence under the Housing Act 2004, and the council can prosecute or impose a financial penalty. A tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order of up to 12 months' rent, or 24 months for an offence on or after 1 May 2026, if the tribunal is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the offence was committed. A pending application, a temporary exemption notice or a reasonable excuse is a defence.

Licence checker › guide

Does my rented home need a licence?

In England some privately rented homes must be licensed by the council under the Housing Act 2004: larger shared houses everywhere, smaller ones where the council has brought in additional licensing, and every privately rented home in a selective licensing area. This page explains the three kinds in plain words, how to check whether a home is licensed, what a register does and doesn't tell you, and what can follow when a licence was needed and not held. It is information, not a finding about any home.

The three kinds of licensing

Kind	Where	Which homes
Mandatory HMO licensing	Everywhere in England	A house or flat shared by 5 or more people from 2 or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet (Housing Act 2004 s.254; the 2018 Prescribed Description Order). A purpose-built flat in a block of 3 or more flats is outside it.
Additional HMO licensing	Where the council has designated an area, for up to 5 years (s.56, s.60)	Smaller HMOs the designation describes, for example 3 or 4 sharers from 2 or more households, or converted blocks of flats (s.257)
Selective licensing	Where the council has designated an area, for up to 5 years (s.80, s.84)	Every privately rented home in the area, shared or not, with a few exceptions such as homes let by a registered provider of social housing

An HMO is living accommodation occupied, as their only or main residence, by people who do not form a single household and who share a basic amenity such as a kitchen or bathroom, or whose accommodation lacks one (s.254(2)). A household is a family, or a single person (s.258), and a building occupied by only two people is not an HMO (Schedule 14, paragraph 7): so, as GOV.UK puts it, at least 3 people from more than one household. A licence lasts for up to 5 years (s.68(4), s.91(4)). Each council decides its own additional and selective schemes, which start, end and get renewed; the licence checker lists the schemes in force for a postcode's council, checked against the council's own pages on the date it shows, and the council pages list them all.

How to check whether a home is licensed

Every council must keep a register of the licences it has granted and the temporary exemption notices it has served, open for public inspection at its head office, with copies on request for a reasonable fee if it charges one (s.232). Many publish it online as a search page or a file.
The licence checker reads the registers of the councils that publish theirs as a file, 21 at the last count, and says whether a licence for the address is on the copy it holds and when that copy was taken. For every other council it shows the schemes and links to the council's own register search where there is one.
A landlord can be asked for the licence number and dates; the letter template does that in a few lines. The council's private sector housing team can confirm whether a licence or an application exists for an address; there is a letter for that too.

What "not on the register" does and doesn't mean

An address missing from a register is not the same as the home being unlicensed. Registers lag behind decisions, an application may be pending, a temporary exemption notice may be in force, the home may not need a licence at all, and a register holds only the licence types it says it holds. A licence on the register today may also have been granted after an earlier period without one: its start date says. Whether a licence was needed, and whether one was held, is for the council and, in a dispute, the tribunal.

What can follow when a licence was needed and not held

Having control of or managing an HMO that needed a licence without one is an offence (s.72(1)); so is letting a home in a selective licensing area without a licence (s.95(1)). The council can prosecute, or impose a financial penalty instead (s.249A). A pending application or temporary exemption notice, or a reasonable excuse, is a defence (s.72(4), (5); s.95(3), (3A)).
The tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order of up to 12 months' rent (24 months for an offence on or after 1 May 2026), if the tribunal is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the offence was committed.
In the published decisions, 83% of 1,044 unlicensed-HMO applications with a known outcome ended in an order, with a typical amount of £3,241 per applicant (median, n=851); for homes in selective licensing areas, 87% of 317, typically £3,000 per applicant (n=236). Each decision turns on its own facts, including both sides' conduct.

Questions people ask

Does my shared house need a licence?: Everywhere in England a house or flat shared by 5 or more people from 2 or more households, sharing a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a mandatory HMO licence. Smaller shared houses need one where the council has an additional licensing scheme, and in a selective licensing area every privately rented home needs one. The council's licensing page says which schemes it runs.
How do I find out whether my home has a licence?: Councils must keep a public register of the licences they grant. Many publish it online; the licence checker on this site reads the registers of the councils that publish theirs as a file. You can also ask the landlord for the licence number and dates, or ask the council's private sector housing team.
My address isn't on the register. Is the home unlicensed?: Not necessarily. Registers lag behind decisions, an application may be pending, a temporary exemption notice may be in force, the home may not need a licence, and a register holds only the licence types it covers. The council can confirm whether a licence or an application exists.
What can happen if a home needed a licence and didn't have one?: Letting it is an offence under the Housing Act 2004, and the council can prosecute or impose a financial penalty. A tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order of up to 12 months' rent, or 24 months for an offence on or after 1 May 2026, if the tribunal is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the offence was committed. A pending application, a temporary exemption notice or a reasonable excuse is a defence.

Sources

Every sentence above was checked against these on 20 Oct 2026. If they change, this page is wrong until it is checked again; the official pages are the current word.

This is information, not legal advice. Past decisions are not a prediction: each tribunal decides on the evidence in front of it. For advice about your situation, contact Shelter (0808 800 4444) or a local renters' union.