HMO Licence Register: How to Check Whether a Property Is a Licensed HMO

HMO Licence Register: How to Check Whether a Property Is a Licensed HMO

Every local housing authority in England must keep a public register of the HMO licences it has granted. The duty comes from section 232 of the Housing Act 2004, and the content of each register is set by regulations made in 2006. If you want to know whether a property is a licensed HMO, the council's register is the official place to check.

Finding it is not always simple. Some councils publish a downloadable spreadsheet. Others ask you to book an appointment at the civic centre, or charge for an electronic copy. And most attach conditions to how the information can be used.

So what does an HMO licence register show, how do you check one, and what can agents and landlords legitimately do with it?

What is an HMO licence register?

It is the council's public record of licences granted under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004 (HMO licensing) and Part 3 (selective licensing). A typical entry shows the property address, a licence reference, the start and expiry dates of the licence, and details of the licence holder.

The register only shows licences that are in force. Applications still being processed and licences that have expired may not appear, and some councils keep separate records of properties given a temporary exemption from licensing.

Which HMOs need a licence?

Mandatory licensing applies to any HMO occupied by five or more people forming two or more households who share basic amenities such as a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. Since 1 October 2018, that applies regardless of how many storeys the building has. Before then, mandatory licensing only covered HMOs of three or more storeys.

Councils can go further with their own schemes.

Because additional and selective schemes vary by council, a property that needs no licence in one borough may need one in the next. The register for that council tells you which licences have been granted. It does not tell you which properties should have one and do not.

In student areas the checking job is constant. On 26 October 2026, Propalt's listing data identified 752 of the 936 homes advertised to let on Rightmove and Zoopla in Leeds LS6 as HMOs, about 80%, and 686 of the 795 in Manchester M14, about 86%. In outcodes like these, checking a licence is part of almost every new let.

Planning is a separate check. Where a council has made an Article 4 direction, turning a family home into a small HMO needs planning permission as well as any licence. Our guide to underwriting an HMO in an Article 4 area covers that side of the decision.

"The register shows which HMOs are licensed. It cannot show which ones should be and are not."

How do you check the HMO register for a council?

Start with the council's website and search for "HMO register" or "public register of licences". Formats differ widely:

• Online download. Durham County Council, for example, publishes its register as a CSV file showing address, licence reference, start date and expiry date.
• Appointment only. Hartlepool Borough Council holds its register securely and makes it available by appointment, with a PDF copy on request.
• Paid copy. Sunderland City Council offers free inspection by appointment, or an electronic copy for a fee of £77.50.
• Personal data withheld. Hartlepool notes that it follows ICO guidance against publishing landlords' names and addresses in easily reusable formats, and provides a version without personal data.

If you cannot find the register online, contact the council's private sector housing team. Councils are not required to publish the register online, only to make it available for inspection.

Can you use HMO register data commercially?

Often not. This is the limit agents most often overlook. Horsham District Council's terms, for example, state that information from the register may not be extracted or reused for any commercial purpose, including building databases or reselling the data, and that misuse can be reported to the ICO.

That does not stop an agent using the register for its purpose: checking whether a specific property holds a licence, when it expires, and who holds it. It does mean scraping registers across councils to build a prospecting list is a risk you should not take without legal advice.

If you want to find HMO landlords to approach, use data that was collected for that purpose. Propalt's Audience Builder includes HMO Landlords, Existing HMO and Potential HMO audiences, and its Create campaign option starts a letter campaign to the owners in an audience.

What should agents and landlords do with the register?

Used properly, the register answers practical questions before they become problems.

1. Check before you take on an HMO. Confirm the licence is in force, who the licence holder is, and the expiry date, before you agree to let or manage the property.
2. Track expiry dates. Licences run for a fixed term. A managed HMO with a licence due to expire needs a renewal plan months in advance.
3. Check the council's own schemes. If the area has additional or selective licensing, a smaller HMO or a single let may still need a licence.
4. Know the consequences. Operating an HMO without a required licence is a criminal offence, and councils and tenants can apply for a rent repayment order. For offences committed on or after 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 raised the maximum from 12 months' rent to 2 years' rent, and extended the time to apply from 12 months to 2 years after the offence. Superior landlords and company directors can now also be ordered to repay.
5. Expect more data, not less. A private rented sector database is being set up under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, and councils will have more ways to check compliance. Our Renters' Rights Act guide covers what else is changing, and our guide to Awaab's Law and private landlords covers the repair standards HMO landlords also need to plan for.

For agents building a lettings book, licensed HMO landlords are often portfolio landlords. Our guide on how to find new landlords covers how to approach them through the right channels.

Propalt's My Prospects groups properties by owner using Land Registry ownership data, so you can see a landlord's wider portfolio without relying on council registers for a purpose they were not published for.

Key takeaway. Every council must keep a public HMO licence register under section 232 of the Housing Act 2004, showing licensed properties, licence dates and licence holders. Formats and access vary by council, and many restrict commercial reuse of the data, so use the register to check a specific property rather than to build a list. Propalt is built on the principle that public registers are a check on the record, used for the purpose they were published for.

Sources and data references

1. Durham County Council (2024). 'HMO Licensing Register.' Section 232 duty, CSV register fields, five or more tenants requirement. source
2. Horsham District Council (2026). 'Register of licensed houses of multiple occupation (HMOs).' 2006 regulations, in force licences only, restrictions on commercial reuse. source
3. Sunderland City Council (2026). 'HMO public register.' Inspection by appointment, £77.50 electronic copy, criminal offence and rent repayment orders. source
4. Hartlepool Borough Council (2026). 'Register of Licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).' Appointment access and ICO guidance on personal data. source
5. Wokingham Borough Council (February 2026). 'HMO Licence Application Guidance Notes.' Mandatory licensing change from 1 October 2018; Parts 2 and 3 of the Act. source
6. Pinsent Masons, Out-Law (January 2026). 'EPC reforms and MEES for private-rented property confirmed.' Private rented sector database under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. source
7. legislation.gov.uk (made 16 April 2026). 'The Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026' (SI 2026/421). Rent repayment order changes in sections 98, 103 and 104 in force from 1 May 2026, for offences committed on or after that date. source
8. legislation.gov.uk (revised to 25 October 2026). 'Housing and Planning Act 2016, section 44.' Maximum award for an HMO licensing offence: a period not exceeding 2 years during which the landlord was committing the offence. source
9. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, GOV.UK (13 November 2025). 'Rent repayment orders: guidance for local authorities.' Up to 2 years' rent, 2 year time limit, superior and company landlords, commencement on 1 May 2026. source

Propalt data. Propalt (October 2026). Homes advertised to let on Rightmove and Zoopla in outcodes LS6 and M14 on 26 October 2026 (deduplicated by property), and the number identified as HMOs in Propalt's listing data.