HMO licensing in North Tyneside Council

Whether a rented home in North Tyneside 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 North Tyneside.^[35]
• Additional HMO licensing for smaller HMOs is not in force in North Tyneside.
• Selective licensing of homes let to a single household is not in force. The council's private sector housing plan says it will keep the need for both schemes under review.^[28]

A planning change is not a licence. The council opened a consultation, closing on 22 October 2026, on an Article 4 direction, which would make landlords get planning permission to turn a house into a small HMO in parts of the borough.^[28] It would not create a licence, and would not change whether an existing home needs one.^[28]

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.^[35]

North Tyneside Council must keep a public register of the HMO licences it has issued, but does not publish it online. Its HMO guidance says the register can be viewed at the council's offices, so ask the council's Private Sector Housing Team (part of environmental health), by email to environmental.health@northtyneside.gov.uk or on 0191 643 6100.^[29]

1. Ask the council to check its register. How to view the HMO register (opens in new tab)^[29]
2. Ask the licensing team in writing. Email the Private Sector Housing Team. 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.^[37]
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.^[40]
4. Report it if you think it should be licensed. Tell the Private Sector Housing Team at environmental.health@northtyneside.gov.uk or on 0191 643 6100. Report disrepair or harassment through its Renters' Rights reporting form (opens in new tab).^[28] Ask for a reference number and keep the reply.

North Tyneside publishes its own HMO standards, which also apply to smaller HMOs shared by 3 or 4 people.^[30] Among other things, a landlord must:

• provide fixed heating — the council does not accept portable heaters
• fit hard-wired, interlinked smoke and heat alarms, and fire doors that give 30 minutes' protection^[30]
• make a bedroom for one person at least 6.51 square metres where there is a shared living room, or 10 square metres where there is not^[30]
• provide enough kitchens, bathrooms and toilets for the number of people living there^[30]

• 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.^[38]
• 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.

North Tyneside licenses only large HMOs, so start with a headcount: did 5 or more people from more than one household live there during your tenancy?^[35] If fewer did, the home needed no licence, though the council's HMO standards still apply and you can report a hazard to its Private Sector Housing Team.^[28]

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 North Tyneside Council whether an effective application or temporary exemption existed and when it took effect.^[28]
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.^[40]
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.^[41] 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.