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November 11, 2026
DO I NEED AN HMO LICENCE FOR FOUR TENANTS?
Houses in Multiple Occupation: What Are The Rules For Four Tenants?
I’m a landlord and I have four tenants, do I need an HMO licence?
Landlords who rent their privately owned properties to four tenants ask us this question frequently. As with the rules for properties with three tenants, the HMO rules for properties with four tenants are complex. Licensing requirements vary, depending on the local authority rules for the area in which your rental property is situated.
First, you need to understand that the law is concerned with the number of occupants, not the number of tenants.
Second, if you have four occupants in your rental property and ANY ONE of the occupants is not RELATED to the others (by blood or sexual union) then your property is 99% certain to be a shared house HMO under the Housing Act 2004.
If you rent a property to four occupants and aren’t sure whether you need an HMO licence, there are three important questions to ask yourself:
1) “Does my property have four occupants who are not all part of the same family and, importantly, if they are part of the same family can I prove that they are all related?”
If the answer is “yes” then:
2) “Is my rental property in an area where the local authority has Additional HMO Licensing requirements?”
And:
3) “Is my rental property in an area where the local authority has Selective Licensing requirements?”
Why is this important?
It’s essential to understand the HMO licensing rules of your local authority. Councils operate different licensing schemes, so even if you have a property in one area that doesn’t need an HMO licence, a property of the same size and with the same number of tenants in a different area could need an HMO licence.
If you get it wrong, it’s a criminal offence and you could be fined up to £30,000 for failure to licence.
Also, your property must comply with all of the HMO Management Regulations, and many others. Any breach is a criminal offence with potentially unlimited fines.
Why are some local authority HMO licence rules different for properties with four tenants?
There are two types of HMO licence: a mandatory licence, for properties which have five or more occupants who share an essential service (such as a kitchen or bathroom). Only ONE of these tenants needs to be from a separate household or family (i.e. not related by blood or sexual union) for your property to be classed as an HMO requiring a mandatory licence.
Mandatory licensing applies to all relevant properties in England and Wales.
The second type of HMO licence a private landlord may need is an Additional licence. Local authorities can require Additional HMO licensing for properties with three or four tenants.
Additional licensing is required in specific areas at the discretion of the local authority.
Even if the council doesn’t operate an Additional Licensing Scheme, but does have a Selective Licensing Scheme – your property will require a Selective Licence. Additionally, it will need to comply with all of the HMO Management Regulations, any breach of which is a criminal offence with potentially unlimited fines.
How do I find out if my local authority operates Additional HMO licensing for four tenants?
Go to the website of the local authority responsible for the area in which your rental property is situated, and search for ‘additional licensing’. This should bring up the rules for the area and tell you which licence schemes the local authority operates.
Do not call your local housing authority to ask if you need a licence, and do not enter your property address on any online form.
Doing either of these things will bring you to the attention of council enforcement officers and is likely to trigger an inspection.
Even if your privately rented property doesn’t require an HMO licence for four people, the enforcement officers have the right to enter your property if they suspect you don’t have the correct licence. And once the council is there, they’ll look for breaches of all the relevant regulations, and issue immediate fines if they find any.
If you’re not sure whether your property needs an HMO licence for four people, or the local authority website isn’t clear, call us on 0208 088 0788.
Licensing FAQs
Q. I have four occupants in my property, but they’re all friends who moved in together and have a joint tenancy. Do I need an Additional HMO licence for four people?
A. If your local authority operates Additional HMO licensing, and unless your tenants are all from the same family, you need an Additional HMO licence.
Q. My tenants are two couples, they have their own double bedrooms and en suite bathrooms. Do I need an Additional HMO licence for four people?
A.Yes, you do. The criteria for Additional HMO licences for four people applies if any one of them is not part of the same ‘household’. A family unit, or a single household, is classed as:
People who are related to each other by blood or sexual union, including children and certain other relatives
Foster families
Couples who live together as partners (sexual union) with any of their children
A carer and the person they care for
In rare cases, an employer and a domestic employee
If there is more than one family unit in your property in an area which requires an HMO licence for four people, you must have a licence. You may also require an Additional Licence or a Selective Licence.
Q. My tenants are a couple living in a large four-bed house and they occasionally sub-let their spare rooms. Do I need an Additional HMO licence for four people?
A. In this case, you have a difficult situation where your tenants have created an illegal HMO and you can expect a Civil Financial Penalty fine of between £20,000 and £30,000.
Your tenancy agreement should specify that tenants cannot sub-let. But regardless of any contract, in this situation you are automatically responsible by law for operating an HMO - even if you don’t know about it.
If this happens, seek immediate help from Landlord Licensing & Defence – preferably before the council starts enforcement proceedings.
If the council has already started enforcement proceedings, contact us immediately. We’ve dealt with many hundreds of similar cases and can negotiate on your behalf in ways that you cannot.
Q. My tenants only occasionally have visitors, obviously I don’t need an Additional HMO licence for four occupants.
A. Don’t be so sure! If the council suspects your property is an HMO and carries out a raid, and enforcement officers find signs of a fourth person sleeping in the property, they’ll assume they’re an occupant until proven otherwise.
And if that person is between homes – perhaps due to a relationship breakdown or relocation for work – you are operating an unlicenced HMO.Q. What other scenarios would require an HMO licence for four tenants?
A. There are lots of ways your privately rented property could be classed as an HMO for four occupants, if they share an essential amenity such as a bathroom or a kitchen.
They include:
Two co-habiting couples = an HMO
One co-habiting couple and two friends – even if they’re all joint tenants who moved in together = an HMO
Four individuals not from the same family, even if they’re all friends = an HMO
Parents, their child, and their child’s friend = an HMO
A couple who look after two children who live with them, and who are not their birth children or officially fostered = an HMO
A couple who sub-let their spare room to another couple = an HMO
These are just a few examples. There are lots of very common scenarios that can unwittingly create an HMO with four people in one property.
Q. The couple in my property look after two children under 18 who aren't their own, surely that’s not classed as an HMO with four tenants?
A. Unfortunately, it is! Children are legally classed as occupants, regardless of age. If they’re not part of the same family (or foster family), they’re individual residents.
Q. Is there anything else I should know about HMO licences for four occupants?
A. There are lots of applicable regulations, and also some rare exclusions related to the size and the type of the property.
It’s a complex web of national legislation and local powers that’s almost impossible to navigate unless you’re qualified in this highly specialised area of law.
If you’re a landlord and you’re uncertain about ANY aspect of your privately rented property, speak to our experts to find out your obligations as a private landlord and the type of licence you may need.
An important note for sub-letting tenants
If you’re a tenant and you’re letting someone live with you, whether or not you’re charging them rent, you’ve unwittingly created an HMO – and you’re now a landlord in the eyes of the law. This means you too can be fined up to £30,000 for not licensing the HMO you’ve created, and even more under the HMO Management Regulations - which you are 99% certain to be in breach of.
Your first diagnosis call is always FREE: call 0208 088 0788.When we know your situation, we can deal with all your licensing issues on your behalf. We can also arrange a site visit to ensure your property is fully compliant with the hundreds of pages of legislation that govern privately rented rented HMOs.
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HMO Design
Most landlords and their architects design HMOs without reference to the local HMO Amenity Standards.
They then apply for an HMO licence only to find that the shiny new and expensively converted HMO is non-compliant with HHSRS or HMO Management Regulations.
In many cases, the landlord only finds out when the council visits two years after the licence application and issues massive fines for non-compliance. Often £30,000 or even more.
Involving Certified HHSRS and fire risk assessors at the design stage and during the works can ensure that you get all of these design and compliance matters (which are over and above building regulations) right from the outset.
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