What should you check before moving into an HMO?
Before you move into a house in multiple occupation (HMO), check three things: whether the property needs a licence and has one, whether you've been given the right safety documents, and how your deposit will be handled. Getting these right at the start prevents most of the disputes that HMO tenants run into later.
A property is usually an HMO when at least 3 people from 2 or more households live there as their main home and share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. That's how government guidance summarises the definition in section 254 of the Housing Act 2004. A "household" broadly means members of the same family, so a couple counts as one household, while three friends sharing count as three (Housing Act 2004, s.258).
Does the property need an HMO licence?
If 5 or more people from 2 or more households live there, the property needs a mandatory HMO licence from the council. That rule has applied across England since 1 October 2018 under the Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018, and there's no longer any requirement about the number of storeys.
Smaller HMOs can still need a licence where the council runs an additional licensing scheme (Housing Act 2004, s.56), and some areas have selective licensing covering all private rentals (s.80). Every council must keep a public register of the licences it has granted (s.232), so you can check before you sign anything. A quick search on your council's website, or a phone call to its private sector housing team, tells you whether the address is licensed.
Renting an unlicensed HMO doesn't make your tenancy invalid, and it's the landlord who commits the offence, not you. Operating a licensable HMO without a licence carries an unlimited fine, and councils can instead impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000 (the cap rose from £30,000 on 1 May 2026). Tenants of unlicensed HMOs can also apply for a rent repayment order covering up to 2 years' rent, a window the Renters' Rights Act 2025 doubled from 12 months.
What documents should you get when you move in?
You should receive, or be able to see, the following:
- A written tenancy agreement. In an HMO you'll either have a joint tenancy with your housemates or an individual agreement for your room. Read which one it is, because it changes who's liable for rent.
- The gas safety record. Landlords must have every gas appliance checked each year by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and new tenants must get a copy of the record before they move in (Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, reg. 36).
- The electrical inspection report (EICR). Private landlords in England must have the fixed electrical installation inspected at least every 5 years by a qualified person, and new tenants must be given a copy before they occupy the property (Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020).
- Deposit protection paperwork. See below.
The manager of an HMO also has day-to-day duties under the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006: displaying their contact details in the property, maintaining fire safety measures, keeping the water supply and drainage in order, maintaining common parts and living accommodation, and providing enough bins. These duties apply whether or not the HMO needs a licence, and breaching them is an offence.
How does your deposit work in an HMO?
The same deposit rules apply in an HMO as in any other private tenancy in England. Your tenancy deposit is capped at 5 weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000 (Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 1), and a holding deposit taken to reserve the room is capped at one week's rent with its own strict refund rules.
Once the landlord receives your deposit, they've got 30 days to protect it in an authorised scheme and give you the prescribed information (Housing Act 2004, s.213). The three schemes in England and Wales are the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, the Deposit Protection Service and mydeposits. If the landlord misses the 30-day deadline or never protects the deposit, a county court can order them to pay you between 1 and 3 times the deposit amount (s.214). Since 1 May 2026, a landlord who hasn't dealt with the deposit properly generally can't get a possession order against you either, except on antisocial behaviour grounds.
On moving-in day, photograph every room, including the shared kitchen and bathroom, and keep a copy of any inventory you're asked to sign. Deposit deductions in HMOs often turn on the condition of shared areas, so dated photos matter.
Is your room big enough to be legal?
For licensed HMOs, minimum sleeping room sizes apply to licences granted or renewed since 1 October 2018: 6.51 square metres for one person over 10 years old, 10.22 square metres for two, and 4.64 square metres for a child under 10. A room under 4.64 square metres can't be used as a bedroom at all. If your room looks smaller than that, measure it and raise it with the council's private sector housing team.
How does the Renters' Rights Act 2025 change HMO tenancies?
Since 1 May 2026, when the first phase of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 took effect in England:
- Fixed terms have gone. Private tenancies are periodic, and you can leave by giving 2 months' notice, which helps if a shared house turns out badly.
- Section 21 "no fault" evictions are abolished. A landlord now needs a Section 8 ground, such as serious rent arrears or an intention to sell.
- Rent can only go up once a year through a formal Section 13 notice with at least 2 months' warning, and you can challenge the figure at the First-tier Tribunal before the new rent starts.
- Landlords can't invite or accept bids above the advertised rent.
One caution for joint tenants: if you're on a joint tenancy, a housemate's notice or arrears can affect everyone on the agreement, so talk to each other before anyone acts.
What should you do if something's wrong after you move in?
Start by reporting the problem to the landlord or manager in writing and keep a copy. If nothing happens, the council can inspect under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System in Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004 and, for serious hazards, must take enforcement action such as an improvement notice. For an unlicensed HMO, a rent repayment order application to the First-tier Tribunal is often the strongest lever a tenant has. Our guide to HMO tenant rights covers the enforcement routes in more detail, and contacting environmental health explains how a council inspection works.
Moving into a shared house works best when you treat the first week as an evidence-gathering exercise: check the licence, collect the safety documents, confirm the deposit protection, and photograph everything. It takes an hour and can save you months of argument.