Buying an HMO in London? Check the Licence Before You Complete

An HMO can be an excellent investment — but only if the licensing position is exactly what you think it is. We regularly speak to buyers who completed on a property assuming it was a compliant, licensed HMO, only to discover after the fact that it wasn't. Here's what to check before you exchange contracts.

Verify the licence independently

Don't rely solely on what the seller, their agent, or the property listing states. Check the council's public HMO register yourself (see our separate guide on how to do this) to confirm a licence genuinely exists, is current, and matches the property's actual occupancy.

Remember the licence won't transfer to you

Even if everything checks out and the current licence is completely valid, it will not transfer to you as the new owner. You will need to submit your own application after completion. Factor this into your timeline and budget — including the possibility of a gap between completion and your licence being granted.

Check the licence conditions, not just its existence

A licence being "valid" doesn't tell you whether the property currently meets every condition attached to it. Ask for evidence of current gas and electrical safety certificates, confirm room sizes meet the mandatory minimums, and check whether any enforcement notices or licence variations have been issued against the property historically.

Confirm the planning position too

As we cover in a separate article, an HMO licence and planning permission are different things entirely. Particularly in boroughs with an Article 4 Direction, confirm the property's HMO use was properly established under planning law — a valid licence tells you nothing about this.

Check for additional or selective licensing overlap

Some boroughs require both an HMO licence and separately, if the property falls within a designated zone, a selective licence. Confirm which schemes apply to the specific address, not just the borough generally, since scheme boundaries are often set at postcode or even street level.

Get an independent check before you commit

If you're in the process of buying an HMO anywhere in London, get in touch before you exchange. We'll check the property's current licensing position, flag anything that doesn't add up, and — once you own it — handle your own licence application from day one.