HMO licensing in Kirklees Council

Whether a rented home in Kirklees needs a licence depends on how many people share it.

• Mandatory HMO licensing covers homes rented to 5 or more people who form more than one household and share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, anywhere in Kirklees.^[28]
• Additional HMO licensing for smaller HMOs is not in force in Kirklees.
• Selective licensing of homes let to a single household is not in force. The council's private sector housing policy says it will seek to use selective licensing where it judges intervention necessary and proportionate, but names no area or date.^[22]

Subject to statutory exemptions, a large HMO shared by at least five people from more than one household needs a mandatory licence anywhere in England. The property licensing guide sets out the national tests that sit behind every local scheme.^[28]

Kirklees Council keeps a register of every HMO licence it has issued, but does not publish it online. To check an address, phone the Housing Solutions Service on 01484 221350 or visit by appointment during office hours. The council may charge for a printed copy of the full register.^[25]

1. Ask the council to check its register. HMO register (by phone or appointment) (opens in new tab)^[25]
2. Ask the licensing team in writing. Email Housing Solutions. Give the exact address and the dates you rented, and ask whether a licence, an application or a temporary exemption covered them. Councils must keep a register of licences, temporary exemption notices and management orders and make it available for inspection, so that duty holds even without an online register — a dated written answer is the record to keep.^[30]
3. Treat a "no licence" answer as a starting point. A missing entry is a reason to investigate, not proof of an offence, so ask which scheme applied on your dates and whether anything covered the property.^[33]
4. Report it if you think it should be licensed. Tell the council's Housing Solutions Service by email to housing.solutions@kirklees.gov.uk or on 01484 221350. Report disrepair through its online disrepair form (opens in new tab).^[25] Ask for a reference number and keep the reply.

Kirklees publishes its own amenity standards for HMOs, which apply to licensed and unlicensed HMOs alike. Among other things, the landlord must:

• keep fire safety measures in place, including working smoke alarms
• provide a gas safety certificate every year, and have the electrics checked every five years
• not let the home become overcrowded
• provide enough kitchens, bathrooms and toilets for the number of people living there, as the amenity standards set out^[22]

• 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 property licensing guide lists them in full.^[31]
• 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.

In Kirklees the first test is size: only an HMO rented to 5 or more people from more than one household needs a licence. A smaller HMO, or a home let to one household, needs no licence while no additional or selective scheme is in force.^[22][25]

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. Email Housing Solutions. Ask Kirklees Council whether an effective application or temporary exemption existed and when it took effect.^[25]
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.^[33]
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.^[34] 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.