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What room sizes and amenities does an HMO licence expect?
Check whether the property needs a mandatory licence, whether every bedroom meets the national minimum size, and what else a council expects to see.
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Then go to your council's own scheme for the local rules.
Does your property need an HMO licence?
Two questions, for a property in England.
Do five or more people live there?
Do they form two or more households?
Minimum bedroom sizes
Enter each sleeping room's usable floor area in m², leaving out any part with a ceiling under 1.5 m.
- Meets it7.2 m² meets the 6.51 m² minimum for one person over 10. This room can sleep: one person over 10.
- Under9.5 m² is under the 10.22 m² minimum for two people over 10. This room can sleep: one person over 10.
1 room below the national minimum for the people entered.
Amenity and safety checklist
England. Tick what you can evidence. Where the number is the council's own, the item says so.
0 of 11 ticked.
Your council's licensing schemes
Additional and selective licensing are set council by council. Pick yours if it is listed.
Not listed? Find your council on GOV.UK and ask for its licensing page, or see the councils we cover.
Licensing is local
The mandatory test and the room sizes are national. Additional and selective schemes, fees and amenity ratios are not. The HMO licensing guide explains the three kinds, and the council pages give each scheme with its source.
Where it sits
A checklist, not an inspection. Room sizes are the mandatory licence conditions in the 2018 regulations; the safety items summarise the duties in the Housing Act 2004 and the Management of HMOs (England) Regulations 2006. Your council's licence conditions, amenity standard and fire safety requirements can go further, and the licence is the document that counts. Read on 7 October 2026.
LetBuddy tracks the licence expiry, gas safety, electrical and alarm certificates as dated items on each property and reminds you before they lapse, so the paper trail a council asks for is already there.
Common questions
What is the minimum bedroom size for an HMO in England?
6.51 square metres for one person over 10, 10.22 square metres for two people over 10, and 4.64 square metres for one child under 10. A room under 4.64 square metres cannot be used for sleeping. These are mandatory licence conditions.
Does a sloping ceiling count towards the room size?
Only the part of the floor where the ceiling is 1.5 metres or higher counts. Measure that area, not the whole floor.
When do I need a mandatory HMO licence?
In England, when five or more people forming two or more households share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom. The quiz above applies that test. Below that, your council may still require an additional or selective licence for the area.
How many bathrooms and kitchens does an HMO need?
It depends on the number of occupiers and your council's amenity standard, which is set locally rather than nationally. Ask your council for the standard that applies to your property.
Do older licences have to meet the room sizes?
A licence issued before 1 October 2018 did not carry the minimum sizes, but the same conditions apply when it is renewed.
Does this apply in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?
No. This is the England regime. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland license HMOs under their own laws and standards.
Does it store what I enter?
No. It runs in your browser and nothing is sent to a server.
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Read this next
- HMO licensingMandatory, additional and selective licensing, and the renewal nobody chases you for.
- Licensing by councilSelective and additional schemes council by council, each fact linked to the council's own page.
- Tenant repair reportingRepairs reported by link, with the dated record a possession claim later needs.