House in Multiple Occupation licences

Any rented property with five or more people living across two or more households and sharing common facilities is classed as a house in multiple occupation (HMO) and must be licensed.

Apply for a licence

Anyone operating a licensable house in multiple occupation (HMO) without a licence or a valid application for a licence will be committing an offence and will be open to prosecution. The fine for such an offence could be up to a maximum of £20,000. 

Licence fees

There is a fee for licensing each HMO. The fees for 2018/19 are as follows:

Fees for house in multiple occupation licences
Description Charge
Housing Notices (fixed charge per person) £300
Licence for a standard five-bedroom HMO (initiated by the applicant without local authority intervention) £700 per licence (five years)
Licence for a standard five-bedroom HMO (initiated with local authority intervention) £980 per licence (five years)
Additional bedrooms £16 per room
Production of drawings £50
Renewal of HMO licence £630 (five years)
Fee reduction for additional HMOs with the same applicant/landlord £55
Standard inspection for immigration £205

Inspection programme 

We have a proactive inspection programme of HMOs. If the condition of a property is not up to standard then the landlord or owner will be asked to carry out improvements.

Please see the following documents for information about these standards.

 Amenity standards for Houses in Multiple Occupation (PDF 311KB)  Herts Fire Precautions Guide (PDF 912KB) 

Public register

We are required (Under section 232 of The Housing Act 2004) to maintain and make available a public register of licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation. The register will be updated quarterly and is not intended for marketing purposes. If you would like to view the public HMO register, please email pshousing@dacorum.gov.uk and we will send you a copy.

More information

For more information, please email pshousing@dacorum.gov.uk or call 01442 228000 and ask for Private Sector Housing.