Most landlords who let unlicensed did not decide to. They asked the wrong question — "is my property an HMO?" — got a correct answer of "no", and stopped. Selective licensing does not care whether it is an HMO.
Here are the questions in the order that gets the right answer.
Step 1 — Is it let to five or more people in two or more households?
Count people, not bedrooms, and count households, not tenancies. A household is a single person, or members of the same family living together. Five friends sharing is five households. A couple plus three friends is four.
If yes, and they share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, this is a mandatory HMO. It needs a licence in every council in England and Wales. No designation required, nothing to check locally. Go and apply.
Step 2 — Is it a smaller HMO?
Three or four people forming two or more households, sharing facilities, is still an HMO. It is below the mandatory threshold, so it needs a licence only if the council has designated an additional licensing scheme under section 56.
We track 64 councils with such a designation. Check yours on the council licensing index.
Step 3 — Is it an ordinary private let?
A family, a couple, a single tenant. No HMO in sight. This is where selective licensing applies, if the council has designated the area under section 80 — and 60 of the 318 councils we track have.
Designations are drawn by ward and sometimes by street, so a council-level yes is not an address-level yes. Check the council's designation map for the specific property. We link to it from every council page.
Step 4 — Does an exemption apply?
The main ones, none of which are as broad as they sound:
- Already licensed under Part 2. A property with a mandatory or additional HMO licence is outside selective licensing.
- Registered social landlords. Tenancies granted by them are generally excluded.
- Long leases. Leases over a certain length are not "let" in the relevant sense.
- Resident landlords. Where the landlord lives in the property with the occupiers, scope narrows considerably.
- Genuine holiday lets and some business tenancies. Genuine being the operative word.
"My tenant has been there fifteen years", "it is managed by an agent" and "the property is in good condition" are not exemptions. The duty attaches to the property in the area, and the licence holder is whoever manages or controls it.
Step 5 — Confirm it, and keep the confirmation
Check the position against the council's own designation, not a summary. Council websites are frequently behind their own instruments: we have found councils publishing a commencement date that their designation notice contradicts, and we record both when that happens.
If you cannot get a clear answer, ask in writing and keep the reply. A dated written answer from the council is the best evidence you will get that you asked.
Start here
Check your council in one click. Our council licensing index covers all 318 councils in England and Wales, with the designated areas, the dates and the source for each. Or run the free compliance check — five questions, no sign-up — and it will tell you which duties apply to your property, licensing included.
If the answer is yes and you have already let
Apply immediately. An application in progress is not a defence to the offence, but a council deciding how to respond will treat a landlord who came forward differently from one it had to find. The exposure is set out in penalties for letting without a licence, and it is substantial: up to £30,000 as a civil penalty, plus a rent repayment order of up to twelve months' rent.