HMO tenancy rules: what tenants in shared houses need to know

A house in multiple occupation, an HMO, is a home where three or more people share things like a kitchen or bathroom. The people come from two or more households. That covers most student houses, shared houses, and bedsits. HMOs carry their own legal rules on top of the usual tenancy ones. Here is what an HMO tenant needs to know.

Do I have a tenancy or a licence?

In most HMOs, each tenant holds their own agreement for their room, with shared use of the common areas. Tenancy (stronger rights) or licence (fewer rights)? The terms decide, along with who else can use your space.

Exclusive possession of your room, under a fixed or rolling agreement, likely means a tenancy. Does the landlord keep the right to move you between rooms, or to use part of your space? That may only be a licence. The difference matters: tenancies protect you more.

Licensing requirements

Five or more people, from two or more households, sharing facilities? That HMO must hold a mandatory HMO licence from the council. Smaller HMOs can need one too, under local additional licensing schemes many councils run.

Why this matters: a landlord running an unlicensed HMO that needed a licence may owe you a Rent Repayment Order (RRO). That means up to 12 months' rent back. You apply at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). Running one unlicensed is a criminal offence, with the rent repayment on top.

Whether the home needs a licence, and whether one exists, your local council can tell you.

Safety standards in HMOs

HMO landlords have safety duties beyond an ordinary tenancy:

Fire safety. Proper measures are required: usually linked smoke alarms on every floor, fire doors on living rooms and bedrooms, clear escape routes. Size and layout set the exact requirements.

Gas and electrical safety. As in every privately rented home: a gas check yearly, an electrical installation inspection every 5 years.

Proper facilities. The council can make an HMO landlord provide enough kitchen and bathroom space for everyone living there. Overcrowded HMOs face enforcement.

Management rules. HMO managers must follow the HMO Management Regulations, covering the upkeep of shared areas, facilities, fire equipment, and the building itself.

Communal areas and shared responsibilities

The landlord maintains every shared area: hallways, staircases, kitchens, bathrooms, lounges. Disrepair there is the landlord's job, never split among the tenants.

Your own room's reasonable condition falls to you, along with not damaging shared facilities. Repairs to fixtures, fittings, or the building fabric never do, even in shared areas.

Overcrowding

Too many people for the home's size and facilities means the council acts against the landlord, never against you. A dangerously overcrowded HMO belongs with the council's private sector housing or environmental health team.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

Living in an HMO with disrepair the landlord will not fix, in your room or the shared areas? Call us on 0800 030 4669.

No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Housing Act 2004 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Housing Act 1988 (legislation.gov.uk)

Related articles

• Selective licensing, what it means for tenants
• Fire safety and your landlord's duties
• Electrical safety and your landlord's duties