HMO licensing in Milton Keynes City Council

Whether a rented home in Milton Keynes 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 Milton Keynes.^[21]
• Additional HMO licensing for smaller HMOs is not in force in Milton Keynes.
• Selective licensing of homes let to a single household is not in force. The council's HMO licensing policy, adopted in October 2025, says it runs neither scheme.^[16]

A planning rule is not a licence. Since 2011 the council's Article 4 directions have meant a landlord needs planning permission to turn a house into an HMO anywhere in Milton Keynes.^[16] That does not create a licence, and does not change whether a home needs one.^[16]

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.^[21]

Milton Keynes City Council publishes its register of licensed HMOs as a spreadsheet on its HMO page, with a sheet for each area. For each licence it gives the start date and length, the licence holder and any managing agent, and the maximum number of people allowed.^[15]

1. Download the register and open the sheet for your area. Licensed HMO register, on the council's HMO page (opens in new tab)^[15]
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.^[23]
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.^[26]
4. Report or ask in writing. Email the Private Sector Housing team. Use the Report an issue to Private Sector Housing form linked from the council's HMO page (opens in new tab), or email the Private Sector Housing team at privatesectorhousing@milton-keynes.gov.uk.^[15] Ask for a reference number and keep the reply.

A licence sets the most people who may live in the home and comes with conditions the landlord must meet.^[19] The council's HMO amenity standards also apply to smaller, unlicensed HMOs. Among other things, they say:

• a bedroom for one person should normally be at least 8 square metres where the kitchen is shared, though the council may accept less where there is a communal living room or kitchen-diner, against a legal minimum of 6.51 square metres for anyone aged 10 or over in a licensed HMO^[19]
• bathrooms and shower rooms need fixed heating that tenants control
• there must be enough kitchens, bathrooms and toilets for the number of people sharing them
• the fire precautions may include a mains-wired, interlinked fire alarm, emergency lighting and a protected escape route^[19]

• 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.^[24]
• 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.

Milton Keynes licenses only large HMOs, so first count the people who lived there. Were there 5 or more, from more than one household, at any point in your tenancy?^[21] If so, check the council's register spreadsheet for the licence start date. If fewer, no licence was needed, though the council's amenity standards still apply.^[15]

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 the Private Sector Housing team. Ask Milton Keynes City Council whether an effective application or temporary exemption existed and when it took effect.^[15]
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.^[26]
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.^[27] 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.