HMO and selective licensing in Nottingham City Council

Three kinds of property licence apply in Nottingham, and which one — if any — depends on the address, who lives there and how the home is let.

• Mandatory HMO licensing always applies to the largest shared houses, anywhere in the city.
• Additional HMO licensing covers smaller shared houses — those shared by three or more people from two or more households — across the whole city, and runs from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2028.^[8]
• Selective licensing covers ordinary private lets in a designated central area of the city, whatever the number of occupants, and runs from 1 December 2023 to 30 November 2028.^[8]

Because selective licensing covers only the designated area, whether an ordinary let needs a licence turns on the exact address, not just the neighbourhood. Check yours against the council's designated-area map and register.^[8]

Whatever Nottingham designates locally, 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.^[12]

Nottingham lets you check any address online: the council's MyProperty postcode tool (opens in new tab) shows whether a home falls inside the additional HMO or selective licensing area, and the council publishes a register of the selective licences it has granted. To confirm a specific property, check that register and ask the licensing team.^[10]

1. Check the address on the council's MyProperty postcode tool, linked above, then its published selective-licence register. Check Nottingham's selective licensing area and register (opens in new tab)^[10]
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.^[13]
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.^[16]
4. Report or ask in writing. Report a suspected unlicensed property to the council (opens in new tab). Report a suspected unlicensed shared house or private let to Nottingham's HMO and licensing team, on 0115 915 2020 or hmo@nottinghamcity.gov.uk.^[9] Ask for a reference number and keep the reply.

Because Nottingham licenses smaller shared houses citywide and ordinary private lets across the selective area, a licence here can reach far more homes than the largest HMOs alone. Each licence fixes the maximum number of occupants and carries conditions on fire safety, gas and electrical checks, the state of amenities and how the household's waste is dealt with. Read the licence for your own address against how the home is actually used — the permitted occupancy and the named manager are the details worth checking first.^[9]

• 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.^[14]
• 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.

Whether a Nottingham home should have carried a licence turns on how many people share it, whether they make up one household or several, and whether the address falls inside the selective area. A mandatory or additional HMO licence applies citywide; a selective licence only within the designated central area.^[10]

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. Report a suspected unlicensed property to the council (opens in new tab). Ask Nottingham City Council whether an effective application or temporary exemption existed and when it took effect.^[9]
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.^[16]
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.^[17] 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.