HMO licence (Northern Ireland): every house in multiple occupation needs a council licence
Who needs a house in multiple occupation (HMO) licence in Northern Ireland under the HMO Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, how to apply to the district council, the fit and proper person and planning tests, fees, five-year licences, occupancy standards and the £20,000 fines.
If you let rooms in Northern Ireland to three or more people who live there as their only or main residence and who form more than two households, it is a house in multiple occupation (HMO) and you need an HMO licence from the district council (sections 1 and 7 of the Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016). The rule covers shared houses and flats, private student accommodation and hostels where residents live as their main home. A hotel or guest house where guests stay on short visits is not an HMO, because the guests do not live there as their only or main residence. Some buildings are excluded, including accommodation for full-time students managed by the educational institution, and social housing run by the Housing Executive or a registered housing association (Schedule 1).
The licence is issued by the council for the district where the HMO is situated and names the HMO, the owner, any managing agent, the maximum number of people who may live there and any conditions (section 7).
- What is an HMO
- Living accommodation occupied by 3 or more people as their only or main residence, who form more than two households, where at least one of them pays rent or other consideration (section 1)
- Who applies
- The owner, in writing and in the form the council specifies, to the council for the district (section 8, Schedule 2)
- What the council must be satisfied about
- Occupation as an HMO would not breach planning control; the owner and any managing agent are fit and proper persons; the management arrangements are satisfactory; the licence will not cause overprovision of HMOs in the locality; and the accommodation is fit for human habitation and suitable for occupation as an HMO, or can be made so by licence conditions (section 8)
- Fit and proper person
- The council considers convictions for fraud or dishonesty, violence, drugs, human trafficking, firearms and sexual offences, unlawful discrimination, breaches of housing or landlord and tenant law, failing to follow the approved code of practice, and anti-social behaviour. A person under a disqualification order is not fit and proper (section 10)
- Application contents
- Address, owner and managing agent details, any person with a freehold, a lease of more than 3 years unexpired or a mortgage, charge or lien, and the maximum number of occupants proposed (Schedule 2)
- Publicity
- The applicant must give public notice of the application. For example, within seven days of submitting it, publish notice in a newspaper circulating in the locality (Belfast City Council guidance)
- Fee
- Set by each council. Belfast City Council charges £62 per person living in the property per year, which is £310 per person for a five-year licence: £930 for three occupants, £1,240 for four, £1,550 for five. Adding an occupant costs £310 plus a £125 inspection fee, and a licence variation for a change of managing agent costs £250. The Department for Communities said on 21 October 2025 that it is increasing the maximum fee a council can charge, so check your council's current fee
- Decision time
- Belfast City Council aims to decide within three months of a complete application
- Licence duration
- 5 years, or a shorter period of not less than 6 months if the licence says so (section 19). Apply to renew before it ends (section 20)
- Temporary exemption
- If you intend to stop the property being an HMO, the council can issue a temporary exemption notice lasting 3 months, extendable (section 15)
- Space and room standards
- For a room used only as a bedroom: under 6.5 square metres is not counted; 6.5 to under 11 square metres sleeps 1 person; 11 to under 15 sleeps 2; 15 to under 19.5 sleeps 3. Anyone aged 13 or over must not have to share a bedroom with someone of the opposite sex aged 13 or over, or with a couple (sections 42 and 43)
- Offences
- Unlicensed HMO, or exceeding the licensed number: fine up to £20,000 plus up to £50 a day after conviction. Breaching a licence condition, authorising an agent to let an unlicensed HMO, or claiming a licence you do not hold: fine up to £10,000 (sections 30 to 32). Councils can also issue fixed penalties, and the Department says the most serious offences carry £5,000 fixed penalties (Department for Communities, 21 October 2025)
- Enforced by
- District councils
What you must do
- Work out whether your property is an HMO using the occupancy, household and main-residence tests, and check Schedule 1 for any exclusion.
- Check planning permission first. The council must refuse a licence if it is not satisfied that using the property as an HMO would not breach planning control. If it refuses for that reason and you later obtain planning permission or a certificate of lawfulness, you can reapply without paying a fee if you do so within 28 days (Schedule 2).
- Apply to your council with the fee and all the supporting documents, then publish the notice of application in the form required.
- Expect conditions. A licence can regulate management, use, condition and contents of the HMO and may require you or your managing agent to attend training on the approved code of practice (section 14).
- Keep to the licensed number of occupants and the conditions. Displaying a licence that you do not hold, or exceeding the number, is an offence.
- Renew before the licence ends. An application to renew must be made before the licence ceases to have effect.
Landlord registration is separate. All landlords who let under a private tenancy in Northern Ireland must register, currently £70 online or £80 on paper for a certificate valid for three years (nidirect).