In England, a house let room by room needs a mandatory licence from the council if it's rented to five or more people who form more than one household, they share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, and at least one of them pays rent (GOV.UK). Councils can also require licences for smaller shared houses (additional licensing) or for every privately rented home in an area (selective licensing). A licence lasts up to five years and comes with conditions, including minimum bedroom sizes. Letting without a licence you need is a criminal offence, so check with your council before the first tenant moves in.
This guide explains each type of licence, what the council will look at, and how to stay licensed when rooms turn over often.
What counts as a shared house?
GOV.UK describes a shared house (the legal term is HMO, a house in multiple occupation) as a property rented out by at least three people who are not from one household but who share facilities like the bathroom and kitchen (GOV.UK). The full legal definition is in section 254 of the Housing Act 2004, and it's broader than most people expect.
What is a "household"?
A household is broadly a family: a single person, a couple (married, in a civil partnership or living together as if they were), or relatives such as parents, children, grandparents, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins (section 258 of the Housing Act 2004). Three unrelated friends sharing a house are three households, even if they moved in together and pay rent on one agreement. That's why a house let to three students can count as a shared house for licensing purposes.
Joint tenancies can still count
It doesn't matter whether each tenant has their own tenancy for a room or all of them signed one joint tenancy for the whole house. The test is about the people living there and whether they form more than one household, not about the paperwork. If you let a whole house on one joint tenancy to five unrelated sharers, it can still need a mandatory licence. See tenancy agreements for a room for how individual and joint tenancies differ.
If you live in the house yourself
If you let rooms in your own home, GOV.UK says your property may be classed as a shared house if you let rooms to more than two people (GOV.UK). Lodgers are treated differently from tenants in many other ways (see lodger or tenant?), but licensing and some safety rules can still apply. Ask the council before you take in a third lodger.
Mandatory licensing
A licence is mandatory if all of these apply (GOV.UK):
- the property is rented to five or more people who form more than one household;
- some or all of the tenants share toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities; and
- at least one tenant pays rent (or their employer pays it for them).
The number of storeys doesn't matter. Since 2018, the description has also covered flats shared by five or more people, unless the flat is purpose-built and in a block of three or more self-contained flats. The exact wording is in article 4 of the Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018. The duty to license comes from section 55 of the Housing Act 2004.
Counting people, not rooms
Mandatory licensing counts people, not bedrooms. A four-bedroom house with a couple in one room and three single sharers in the others has five people in four households, so it needs a licence. Children count too. Keep an eye on this when a tenant's partner moves in.
Additional licensing
Councils can designate an area for additional licensing, which brings in shared houses that mandatory licensing doesn't cover, typically houses with three or four sharers (section 56 of the Housing Act 2004). A scheme can cover a whole borough or just certain wards. It can last up to five years, and the council must review it from time to time (section 60).
Councils publish their schemes, maps, fees and conditions on their websites. The government's licensing reform guidance for local housing authorities explains how the licensing rules are meant to work.
Selective licensing
Selective licensing covers all privately rented homes in a designated area, not just shared houses (Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004). A shared house that needs a mandatory or additional licence doesn't also need a selective licence (section 85). The government's selective licensing guide for local authorities sets out when councils can use it. Since 23 December 2024, councils no longer need government confirmation for a selective scheme of any size, though they must still consult first.
How to find out which applies
- Search your council's website for "property licensing" or "landlord licensing".
- Check the scheme map for your address and the dates the scheme runs.
- Count the people and households living in the house now, and the maximum you plan to let to.
- If you're unsure, email the council's private housing team with the address and the number of occupiers, and keep their reply.
Licence conditions
Every licence comes with conditions. Some are set nationally; others are added by the council.
Mandatory conditions
The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018 set minimum bedroom sizes for every shared house licence, mandatory or additional. Regulation 2 adds them to Schedule 4 of the Housing Act 2004: the floor area of a room used for sleeping must be at least:
- 6.51 square metres for one person over 10;
- 10.22 square metres for two people over 10; and
- 4.64 square metres for one child under 10.
A room under 4.64 square metres can't be used for sleeping at all, and any part of the floor where the ceiling is lower than 1.5 metres doesn't count. The same regulation requires you to follow the council's scheme for storing and disposing of rubbish. Our guide to minimum room sizes covers how to measure.
Schedule 4 of the Housing Act 2004 also puts these conditions in every licence. You must:
- if there's gas, give the council a gas safety certificate from the last 12 months each year;
- keep electrical appliances and furniture you supply safe, keep the electrical installation safe and in working order, and give the council a declaration about their safety when asked;
- fit a smoke alarm on each storey with a room used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any such room with a fixed combustion appliance (other than a gas cooker), keep them working, and give the council a declaration when asked; and
- give each occupier a written statement of the terms on which they live there.
Council conditions
Councils often add conditions about:
- the maximum number of people and households;
- kitchen and bathroom numbers for that many people;
- fire safety: fire doors, detection, escape routes (see fire safety in a shared house);
- management: inspections, dealing with complaints and antisocial behaviour, keeping common parts clean; and
- giving the council copies of certificates when asked.
Read your conditions when the licence arrives, not when the council inspects.
Applying for a licence
You apply to the council, usually online. Expect to provide:
- your details and those of the proposed licence holder and manager;
- a floor plan with room sizes and facilities;
- the current gas safety record, electrical report (EICR) and EPC (see landlord safety certificates);
- details of fire alarms and fire doors; and
- the fee, which varies between councils.
The council checks that the licence holder and any manager are "fit and proper" people, that the management arrangements are satisfactory, and that the house is suitable for the number of occupiers. For fit and proper, it looks at things like offences involving fraud, dishonesty, violence or drugs, unlawful discrimination, and breaches of housing or landlord and tenant law. Someone with a banning order can't be fit and proper (section 66). GOV.UK says the council must assess the house for health and safety risks within five years of receiving your application (GOV.UK).
If you don't license
Letting a house that needs a licence without one is an offence under section 72 of the Housing Act 2004. GOV.UK says you could get an unlimited fine (GOV.UK). Instead of prosecuting, the council can impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000 (section 249A, as increased from 1 May 2026). The same applies if you knowingly let to more people than the licence allows, or break a licence condition. Since 1 May 2026, a superior landlord can also commit the offence of letting an unlicensed shared house.
Tenants (and councils, where rent was paid through universal credit) can also apply for a rent repayment order. For an unlicensed house, it can require you to repay up to two years' rent (Housing and Planning Act 2016, section 44, as changed from 1 May 2026). The guide to the Renters' Rights Act explains the changes.
Planning permission and Article 4
Licensing and planning are separate. A licence doesn't mean you have planning permission, and planning permission doesn't mean you have a licence.
In planning law, a family home is use class C3 and a small shared house with up to six residents is use class C4. Changing from C3 to C4 is normally allowed without a planning application under Class L of the national permitted development rules (Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 3). But a council can make an Article 4 direction that removes that right in a defined area, so you'd need planning permission there (GOV.UK). A shared house with more than six residents is outside class C4, so this right doesn't cover it. Check the council's planning pages before you buy or convert.
Renewals and changes
A licence lasts a maximum of five years (GOV.UK), and some councils grant shorter ones. It doesn't renew itself. Put the end date in your calendar and apply well before it. If the licence ends and you haven't made a valid application for a new one, the house is unlicensed and you could be committing an offence. A properly made application that the council hasn't decided yet is a defence (section 72).
Tell the council and ask for a variation if you want to:
- add a bedroom or let to more people than the licence allows;
- change the licence holder or manager; or
- make building changes that affect the layout or fire safety.
A licence can't be transferred to another person (section 68). If you sell the house, the buyer needs their own licence.
Worked example
Priya owns a five-bedroom terraced house and lets each room on its own tenancy. Today four rooms are let to four unrelated sharers, and one is empty.
- Today: four people in four households. Mandatory licensing doesn't apply yet. Priya checks the council website and finds her ward has an additional licensing scheme for shared houses with three or more sharers, so she needs an additional licence now.
- Room 5: it measures 2.4 m by 2.8 m, which is 6.72 square metres, above the 6.51 square metre minimum for one adult. It isn't big enough for a couple (10.22 square metres), so she advertises it for one person.
- When room 5 is let: five people in five households, so the house now meets the mandatory test. Priya asks the council whether her licence already covers five occupiers or whether she needs to apply again, and keeps the email.
- Renewal: the licence ends in five years. She adds "Shared house licence renewal" to her compliance calendar with the licence uploaded, and sets a reminder six months ahead so she has time to apply.
How Rentap helps
Rentap's compliance calendar suggests a shared house licence item for every house let room by room. Record the date the licence started, upload the licence itself, and set the next due date to your renewal date. You'll get reminders 60, 30 and 7 days before (you can change these), and the item turns red on your dashboard if it's overdue. Rentap doesn't decide whether you need a licence or check your conditions; that stays with you and the council. The free compliance calendar tool shows typical renewal dates without signing up.
For other terms in this guide, see the letting terms glossary.
Sources
- GOV.UK: House in multiple occupation licence
- GOV.UK: Renting out a property – houses in multiple occupation
- GOV.UK: Rent a room in your home – houses in multiple occupation
- Housing Act 2004, section 55
- Housing Act 2004, section 56
- Housing Act 2004, Part 3
- Housing Act 2004, section 60
- Housing Act 2004, section 66
- Housing Act 2004, section 68
- Housing Act 2004, section 72
- Housing Act 2004, section 85
- Housing Act 2004, section 249A
- Housing Act 2004, section 254
- Housing Act 2004, section 258
- Housing Act 2004, Schedule 4
- Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018
- Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018
- Housing and Planning Act 2016, Part 2 Chapter 4 (rent repayment orders)
- Housing and Planning Act 2016, section 44
- GOV.UK: Licensing reform guidance for local housing authorities
- GOV.UK: Selective licensing in the private rented sector
- GOV.UK: Guide to the Renters' Rights Act
- GOV.UK: When is permission required?
- General Permitted Development Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 3
Last checked: 10 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice.