HMO licensing. Mandatory licences, room sizes, the management regulations and Article 4.
Five or more people in two or more households sharing facilities is a licensable HMO everywhere in England. Smaller HMOs still have rules, and in Liverpool planning permission is the bigger trap.
Guide by Damion Robinson MCIOB MCIEH. Law and figures checked 01/10/2026. This is general information, not legal advice about your case.
Which HMOs need a licence
Mandatory licensing under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004 applies to any HMO occupied by five or more people forming two or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. Since 2018 that’s regardless of the number of storeys. Liverpool doesn’t currently run an additional licensing scheme, so three and four person HMOs don’t need an HMO licence. Inside the selective licensing area they still need a selective licence, and everywhere they’re still HMOs, so the management regulations and space standards apply to them. A licence lasts up to five years and is specific to the property and the licence holder.
Standards the licence will require
National minimum room sizes apply to licensed HMOs. A room used for sleeping by one adult must be at least 6.51 square metres. For two adults, 10.22 square metres. A child under ten needs 4.64 square metres. Floor area with a ceiling height below 1.5 metres doesn’t count. Councils add amenity standards for kitchens, bathrooms and fire precautions, and Liverpool publishes its own schedule. Fire detection is usually a grade D LD2 system with fire doors to the escape route, and it’s the item most often picked up on inspection.
The management regulations
The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 apply to every HMO whether licensed or not. They put duties on the manager to provide their contact details to occupiers, keep means of escape clear, maintain fire precautions, keep the water, gas and electricity in repair, keep common parts and the exterior in good order, and deal with waste. Breach is an offence and a common civil penalty ground, often alongside a licensing offence.
Planning and Article 4
Converting a family house to a small HMO is normally permitted development, but Liverpool has an Article 4 direction removing that right across parts of the city. Inside the direction, changing a house to a three to six person HMO needs planning permission. HMOs for seven or more are sui generis and always need permission. A licence application will prompt the council to check planning, and a licence can be granted for a property that has no permission, so the two run on separate tracks and both have to be right.
Running an HMO without a licence
Section 72. Civil penalty up to £40,000, rent repayment order up to 24 months for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026, and prosecution as the alternative. The reasonable excuse defence and the pending application protection work the same way as for selective licensing. If you’ve taken on a property and aren’t sure whether it was ever licensed, the council’s public register will tell you, and finding out before the council does is a lot cheaper.
LS-03 Licence application, per property, £150 plus council fee
Fixed price, confirmed in writing before you commit. Council and tribunal fees at cost on top.
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