HMO and selective licensing in City of London Corporation

The City of London Corporation publishes the national mandatory HMO requirement only: a shared property needs a licence when at least five tenants form more than one household. Its housing pages identify no additional or selective designation, so smaller HMOs and ordinary single-household lets are not shown as locally licensable. That makes the City unusual among the boroughs in these guides: in most of London a smaller shared home now needs a local licence, but here the five-person mandatory test is the whole picture.^[12]

Whatever the City of London designates locally, a large HMO shared by at least five people from more than one household needs a mandatory licence anywhere in England. The London licensing guide sets out the national tests that sit behind every local scheme.^[14]

The Corporation's public-registers page lists a licensed-HMO register but says the online register link is not working and directs queries to the licensing team by email. Registers that are not online can be inspected by appointment on weekdays through the Public Protection team, which the page lists with a phone line, 020 7332 3630, for arranging access.^[13]

1. Arrange a register inspection. Inspection details (opens in new tab)^[13]
2. Search the exact address. Save a dated screenshot or download of the result. Councils must keep a register of licences, temporary exemption notices and management orders and make it available for inspection.^[15]
3. Ask about applications and exemptions. A missing entry is a reason to investigate, not proof of an offence, so ask whether a licence, application or exemption covered the dates you rented there.^[18]
4. Report or ask in writing. Environmental Health (opens in new tab). HMO licensing queries and reports go to the Corporation's Environmental Health team by phone or email through its private-rented housing page.^[12] Ask for a reference number and keep the reply.

The Corporation issues HMO licences with conditions attached, and its guidance summarises the minimum standards it checks, such as enough toilets, kitchens and bathrooms for the number of residents. Its housing pages carry visible date stamps, so note the page date and ask Environmental Health to confirm the current conditions and any figure before you rely on it.^[12]

• National conditions are the floor. Every licence carries the prescribed conditions on gas, electrics, alarms, tenancy terms and waste, and can last up to five years; the London licensing guide lists them in full.^[16]
• Compare the licence with reality. The register entry or licence may identify the manager, the permitted occupancy and property-specific conditions. Check those details against how the home is actually occupied and managed.
• Keep separate evidence of hazards. A licence does not establish continuing compliance. Report disrepair or an immediate safety risk separately, and keep photographs, messages and certificates.

A City of London case normally starts with the mandatory test, because no wider local designation exists: evidence of at least five occupiers, their separate households, shared facilities and rent is central. Arrange inspection of the register through Public Protection, and ask Environmental Health in writing to confirm the licensing position for your dates.^[12]

1. Confirm the scheme and dates. Match the address, occupancy and rental period to the designation in force at the time.
2. Ask the council in writing. Environmental Health (opens in new tab). Ask the City of London Corporation whether an effective application or temporary exemption existed and when it took effect.^[12]
3. Check the legal position. An application, an exemption, a reasonable excuse or the identity of the person legally responsible (the "person managing or controlling" the property) can all affect whether an offence is proved.^[18]
4. Preserve the evidence. Keep the tenancy, rent payments, proof of occupation, dated searches and council correspondence.

For a licensing offence committed on or after the 1 May 2026 rule change, a tenant can ask the First-tier Tribunal for up to two years' rent, and normally has two years from the offence to apply. The tenant must prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt, and the tribunal decides any award from the statutory factors and evidence; recovery is never automatic.^[19] Older offence periods may be governed by earlier limits. Free housing advice is available from Shelter and Citizens Advice, and local law centres can help with tribunal cases.