Quick Answers
Does the RRA change HMO licensing requirements?
Not directly — mandatory licensing thresholds have not changed. But the RRA changes how tenancies in HMOs operate: all agreements are now periodic, Section 8 is the only possession route, rent rises require a Section 13 notice, and the Decent Homes Standard now applies to all HMO properties. Operating an unlicensed HMO also now carries expanded Rent Repayment Order exposure.
How do I know if my property needs a selective licence?
Check directly with the council for the borough where the property sits, using the postcode. Selective licensing boundaries are not always borough-wide and schemes change at renewal. Newham operates citywide mandatory licensing for all private rented properties. Hackney, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest operate extensive selective licensing covering most private rented stock. Do not assume you do not need a licence without checking.
Can tenants use RROs against HMO landlords?
Yes. Operating an HMO without the required licence is a specified RRO-triggering offence. A tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for up to 12 months' rent paid. The RRA also expanded the list of offences that trigger RROs. An unlicensed HMO in an area where the landlord has not kept up with licensing renewals is an acute Rent Repayment Order risk.
The licensing position: mandatory HMO licensing under the Housing Act 2004 applies to all properties occupied by five or more people from two or more households sharing facilities. Many East London boroughs have extended this through additional HMO licensing schemes (covering three or more persons) and separate selective licensing applying to all private rented properties. A landlord in Newham with a four-person HMO may need both an HMO licence and a selective licence simultaneously — different fees, different conditions, different renewal dates.
The RRA overlay: the most significant change for HMO landlords is the abolition of fixed-term tenancies. Many HMO landlords relied on fixed-term agreements aligned to academic or employment cycles to manage occupancy. All tenancies are now periodic. Planning around natural tenancy ends, managing summer vacancies, and dealing with rooms becoming vacant at different times of year all require new thinking.
Key Takeaways
Three licensing tiers can stack on a single property
Mandatory HMO licensing, additional HMO licensing, and selective licensing are legally distinct schemes that can all apply to the same property. A landlord with a four-person HMO in a selective licensing area needs a selective licence regardless of whether mandatory HMO licensing applies. An additional HMO licensing scheme can then also require a licence for that same four-person HMO separately. Assuming that holding one type of licence means other requirements are covered is one of the most common compliance mistakes for landlords in East London.
Newham operates mandatory licensing for all private rented properties
Newham introduced a borough-wide mandatory licensing scheme covering all private rented properties — not just HMOs — in 2013. This scheme has been repeatedly renewed and covers every privately rented property in the borough, regardless of size or occupancy type. A single-let flat in Newham requires a Newham licence. Operating without one is a criminal offence. The scheme is one of the most comprehensive in England and is actively enforced. Newham's enforcement team makes regular use of civil penalties and prosecution.
Fixed-term tenancies in HMOs no longer exist after 1 May 2026
The Renters' Rights Act abolished fixed-term assured tenancies. All assured tenancies are now periodic. For HMO landlords who relied on twelve-month fixed terms to manage occupancy cycles, this requires a fundamental rethink of how rooms are let. A tenant can give two months' notice at any time. The HMO landlord cannot require a tenant to stay until the end of a fixed period. End-of-term room turnaround planning based on fixed term expiry dates is no longer available.
HMO licence conditions interact with the RRA's property standards requirements
HMO licence conditions typically specify minimum room sizes, fire safety requirements, heating, kitchen and bathroom facilities, and maintenance standards. The Decent Homes Standard now applies independently to all HMO tenancies as well. Where an HMO licence condition requires a specific standard and the Decent Homes Standard requires a different or higher standard, the landlord must meet both. There is no opting out of one standard because the other applies. A property that meets all its HMO licence conditions may still fail the Decent Homes Standard if, for example, it has inadequate insulation or an ageing boiler.
The Decent Homes Standard's Awaab's Law provisions apply to HMOs
The Awaab's Law provisions requiring landlords to investigate and address reported damp and mould within prescribed timescales now apply to the private rented sector, including HMOs. HMO properties — often older converted houses with poor ventilation, shared bathroom use, and multiple occupants generating moisture — are at higher risk of damp and mould issues than single-let properties. A landlord who receives a damp or mould report from an HMO tenant must investigate within 14 days and begin remediation within the specified period. Failure to do so is a breach of the Act independent of the Decent Homes Standard.
Operating without the correct licence blocks possession and triggers RROs
An unlicensed HMO landlord cannot serve a valid Section 8 notice while the licence is missing. This is a direct parallel to the deposit protection bar — the prerequisite for possession must be satisfied before a notice can be served. Additionally, operating without the required licence is a specified RRO offence, meaning tenants of the unlicensed property can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for recovery of up to 12 months' rent. The combination of possession bar and financial liability makes licence compliance a matter of urgent priority for any landlord who is not certain their current licences are in order.
The Three Licensing Tiers Explained
Mandatory HMO Licensing
National — Housing Act 2004Applies to all properties in England and Wales occupied by five or more persons from two or more separate households sharing one or more basic amenities (kitchen, bathroom, toilet). No council opt-out. Every property above this threshold requires a licence regardless of local schemes.
Licence conditions typically include: minimum room sizes (6.51m² per adult), fire safety requirements, gas and electrical safety, adequate heating, and provision of facilities appropriate to the number of occupants.
Fee and renewal: set by each council, typically £500-£1,500 per application. Five-year term. Must be renewed before expiry.
Additional HMO Licensing
Discretionary — council schemeCouncils can designate areas where smaller HMOs (below the mandatory threshold — typically three or four persons from two or more households) must also be licensed. Requires Secretary of State approval for large-scale schemes. Boundaries are set by the council and may cover the whole borough or specific wards.
Standards are typically similar to mandatory HMO licence conditions but the council has some discretion. Licence conditions may be more extensive in areas with a history of poor management.
Not universal — check whether the specific borough and property type are covered.
Selective Licensing
Discretionary — all private rentalsApplies to all privately rented properties in the designated area — not just HMOs. A single-let flat in a selective licensing zone requires a selective licence regardless of whether mandatory HMO licensing applies to it.
Introduced to address low demand, anti-social behaviour, or poor property conditions in specific areas. Very common in East London. Conditions are typically lighter than HMO licence conditions but still require evidence of fit and proper person status, property safety standards, and management competence.
Separate licence, separate fee, separate renewal date from any HMO licence on the same property.
A four-person shared house in Newham may require: a Newham selective licence (for being a private rented property in Newham), an additional HMO licence (if Newham's additional scheme covers that property type), and mandatory HMO licensing does not apply because occupancy is below five — but both the other two do. The landlord holds two licences on the same property from the same council, each with its own conditions, renewal date, and fee. This is not unusual in East London and is something that landlords who inherited a property management arrangement often discover has not been kept up to date.
East London and Essex: The Licensing Landscape
The licensing landscape in the areas where Neon operates is among the most complex and actively enforced in England. The table below summarises the position as of mid-2026, but licensing schemes change at renewal — always verify the current position directly with the council before letting any property.
| Borough / Area | Licensing Position |
|---|---|
| Newham |
Mandatory HMO
Borough-wide private rented
Newham's borough-wide selective licensing scheme covers all privately rented properties, renewed multiple times since 2013. Every private rented property in Newham — including single lets — requires a Newham licence. One of the most comprehensively licensed boroughs in England. Active enforcement with civil penalties and prosecution. Check current scheme details at newham.gov.uk. |
| Hackney |
Mandatory HMO
Additional HMO
Selective (some wards)
Hackney operates additional HMO licensing extending to three-or-more-person HMOs, plus selective licensing in designated wards. Check the Hackney Council website for current scheme boundaries — the selective licensing area has been extended across successive renewal periods. Additional HMO scheme covers smaller HMOs not caught by mandatory licensing. |
| Tower Hamlets |
Mandatory HMO
Additional HMO
Selective (most areas)
Tower Hamlets has run extensive selective licensing covering most of the borough alongside additional HMO licensing for smaller HMOs. The schemes have expanded over successive renewals. Private landlords in Tower Hamlets should assume licensing applies and confirm the position with the council's private rented sector team using the specific postcode. |
| Waltham Forest |
Mandatory HMO
Additional HMO
Selective (designated areas)
Waltham Forest has operated additional HMO licensing and selective licensing in designated areas. Scheme coverage and boundaries have expanded. The council has been active in enforcement against non-compliance particularly for properties in designated selective licensing zones. |
| Redbridge |
Mandatory HMO
Additional (some areas)
Selective (some areas)
Redbridge has introduced additional HMO licensing and selective licensing in some areas. Check with the council for current scheme coverage. Enforcement activity has increased in line with London-wide trends. |
| Havering / Barking |
Mandatory HMO
Additional (not currently)
Selective (some areas)
Outer East London boroughs have had more limited additional licensing but this position changes. Mandatory HMO licensing applies universally. Check with the specific council. The Renters' Rights Act's property database (PRS register) will give councils better intelligence to pursue non-compliant landlords in areas not previously prioritised for enforcement. |
| Essex (Epping, Brentwood, Chelmsford) |
Mandatory HMO
Additional (not currently)
Selective (not currently)
Essex districts generally do not operate additional HMO or selective licensing at the current time. Mandatory HMO licensing applies. The position may change — the PRS Database created by the RRA will give local authorities the tools to introduce selective licensing more easily and there is national momentum towards more extensive licensing coverage. |
The table above reflects the general position as of mid-2026 but is not a substitute for a direct check with the relevant council. Selective licensing schemes are introduced, expanded, and renewed on cycles of three to five years. A property that did not need a selective licence in 2023 may be within a new designation in 2026. The PRS Database being introduced by the RRA will also give councils new tools to enforce proactively against non-licensed properties, even in areas that previously relied on complaints-led enforcement.
How the Renters' Rights Act Changes HMO Management
The most operationally significant change for HMO landlords is the abolition of fixed-term tenancies. Many HMO operators built their entire occupancy management model around twelve-month fixed terms aligned to academic years or employment start dates. That model no longer exists.
Tenancy agreements and occupancy management
From 1 May 2026, all new HMO tenancies are periodic from the outset. Existing fixed-term tenancies that were in place before that date converted to periodic tenancies automatically. The practical consequences for HMO management are:
- Tenant can give two months' notice at any time and leave without penalty, regardless of how recently they moved in or what the landlord's occupancy plan was. There is no minimum term the tenant must serve.
- The landlord cannot require tenants to stay until the end of a planned period. A room that was supposed to be occupied for twelve months may become vacant in month three with two months' notice, and the landlord must accept this.
- Rent can only be increased through the Section 13 process — not by a new fixed-term agreement at a higher rate, not through a rent review clause, not informally. The minimum interval between rent increases is 12 months.
- Each room in an HMO has a separate tenancy in most cases. Each tenancy is now periodic. The timing of departures and arrivals across an HMO becomes more unpredictable than it was under fixed-term agreements.
Possession in an HMO after the RRA
Section 8 is the only possession route. The same prerequisites apply as for single-let properties: deposit protected and prescribed information served, HMO licence current and valid, and any civil penalties or civil penalty notices discharged. The Section 8 grounds are the same as for other residential tenancies. Ground 8 (two months' rent arrears) is typically the most useful for HMO landlords dealing with non-paying tenants.
For the Section 8 process and prerequisites, see Section 8 After the Renters' Rights Act: What the First Cases Are Telling Landlords. For the deposit protection requirements that must be in place before a Section 8 notice can be served, see Deposit Protection After the Renters' Rights Act.
Decent Homes Standard in HMOs
The Renters' Rights Act extended the Decent Homes Standard to all assured periodic tenancies — including HMO tenancies. HMO licence conditions already specify minimum standards for room sizes, facilities, and fire safety. The Decent Homes Standard adds a parallel set of requirements that apply independently of the licence.
For HMO landlords, the criteria most likely to create practical issues are:
- Freedom from Category 1 HHSRS hazards. Damp and mould is a Category 1 hazard in many older HMO properties — shared bathrooms, inadequate ventilation, and high occupancy all increase moisture generation. An HMO landlord who has been managing mould complaints informally without a formal investigation and remediation record is accumulating compliance exposure under both the Decent Homes Standard and the Awaab's Law provisions.
- Thermal comfort. Older HMO stock — Victorian terraces converted to bedsits or shared houses — frequently has poor insulation and ageing boiler systems. An HMO that meets its licence condition for "adequate heating" may still fail the thermal comfort criterion of the Decent Homes Standard if the overall energy efficiency is very poor.
- Reasonably modern facilities. HMO licence conditions often accept shared kitchens and bathrooms that are functionally adequate but old. The Decent Homes Standard's "reasonably modern facilities" criterion adds an age dimension. A kitchen last refurbished in 2000 and now 26 years old may fall into the category requiring attention under the standard even if it meets the licence conditions.
Rent Repayment Order Exposure for HMO Landlords
The Renters' Rights Act expanded the list of offences that give tenants the right to apply for a Rent Repayment Order. For HMO landlords, the most significant triggering offences are:
- Operating an HMO without the required mandatory HMO licence
- Operating a property in a selective licensing area without the required selective licence
- Failing to comply with an improvement notice served by the council
- Using unlawful eviction or harassment to remove a tenant
- Failing to comply with a prohibition order or emergency remediation notice
A tenant who has paid rent for up to 12 months to a landlord who has committed one of these offences can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for an RRO. The Tribunal will order the landlord to repay between one and 12 months of rent. For a five-person HMO with tenants each paying £900 per month, the maximum exposure across all five tenants is substantial — even a partial RRO award across multiple tenants represents a very significant financial consequence.
The most acute risk is for landlords who are unaware that their licensing scheme has been renewed or redesignated and who have been operating without an up-to-date licence for months or years. They may have had no indication that anything was wrong until a tenant makes an RRO application.
What HMO Landlords Should Do Now
The priority actions for any HMO landlord in East London or Essex who has not reviewed their compliance position since the RRA came into force on 1 May 2026:
- Confirm every licence is current. For every property in the portfolio, confirm whether mandatory HMO, additional HMO, and selective licences are held and that the current licence has not lapsed. Check expiry dates and renewal deadlines. Set calendar reminders for renewals 90 days before expiry.
- Check for new licensing designations. If any property is in a borough that has active selective or additional licensing, check with the council directly using the property's postcode whether the current licence covers the current designation. Scheme boundaries change at renewal.
- Confirm deposit compliance for all tenancies. Every HMO tenancy must have a protected deposit and served prescribed information. This is an independent prerequisite for Section 8, separate from licence compliance. Review every tenancy and confirm both obligations are met.
- Review the condition of HMO stock against the Decent Homes Standard. Particularly for damp and mould, heating efficiency, and the age of shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. Identify properties that may have issues before tenants complain formally and the Awaab's Law response timescales begin running.
- Update tenancy agreements to reflect the periodic regime. Any documentation that refers to fixed terms, break clauses, or renewal processes needs to be reviewed and updated to reflect the post-RRA position.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not directly — mandatory HMO licensing thresholds have not changed. But the Act changes how HMO tenancies operate: all tenancies are now periodic, there are no fixed terms, Section 8 is the only possession route, and rent can only be raised through Section 13. The Decent Homes Standard now applies to all HMO tenancies. Operating an unlicensed HMO also now generates expanded Rent Repayment Order exposure under the Act's RRO provisions.
Mandatory HMO licensing applies nationally to all properties with five or more persons from two or more households. Additional HMO licensing extends this to smaller HMOs in designated areas where councils have introduced schemes. Selective licensing applies to all private rented properties (not just HMOs) in a designated area, regardless of occupancy. All three can apply to the same property, each requiring a separate licence, fee, and renewal. East London boroughs commonly operate all three tiers simultaneously.
Check directly with the council using the property's postcode. Newham operates mandatory borough-wide licensing covering all private rented properties. Hackney, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest all have extensive selective and additional licensing schemes whose boundaries have expanded over successive renewals. Do not assume you do not need a licence without checking. Operating without the required licence is a criminal offence carrying a fine of up to £30,000 and generates Rent Repayment Order exposure.
Yes. Operating an HMO without the required licence is an RRO-triggering offence. Tenants can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for up to 12 months' rent. This applies to mandatory HMO licence failures and selective licence failures. A landlord who has let a property in a selective licensing area without a licence — even unknowingly after a scheme renewal — faces RRO claims from every tenant for the period of unlicensed operation.
Yes. The Renters' Rights Act extended the Decent Homes Standard to all assured periodic tenancies including HMO tenancies. HMO licence conditions continue to apply in addition to the standard, not instead of it. A property that meets all HMO licence conditions may still fail the Decent Homes Standard on thermal comfort or facilities grounds. Both sets of requirements must be met independently.
Managing an HMO in East London and not certain your licensing is current?
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