HMO licensing in Swindon Borough Council

Whether a rented home in Swindon needs a licence turns on one test: how many people share it. The council licenses HMOs under the national mandatory scheme and runs no local scheme on top.

• Mandatory HMO licensing applies anywhere in the borough to an HMO shared by 5 or more people from more than one household.^[35]
• Additional HMO licensing, which some councils use for smaller HMOs of 3 or 4 sharers, is not in force. Swindon's private sector housing enforcement policy (2019, revised 2021) says no additional or selective scheme has been declared, and that the council would review whether to declare one if a need arose.^[22]
• Selective licensing, for homes let to a single household, is not in force either.^[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.^[35]

Swindon publishes its register as a downloadable spreadsheet of licensed HMOs in the borough, giving each address and the name of the licence holder. The council says it updates the list every month; the version online in October 2026 was dated August 2026. The list shows no licence dates, pending applications or temporary exemptions, so ask the council about those in writing.^[29]

1. Download the council's list of licensed HMOs (a spreadsheet). List of licensed HMOs in Swindon (opens in new tab)^[29]
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.^[37]
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.^[40]
4. Report or ask in writing. Email the HMO licensing team. To report a suspected unlicensed HMO, email the council's HMO licensing team at healthyneighbourhoods@swindon.gov.uk. Report poor conditions in a rented home through its private housing conditions form (opens in new tab).^[21] Ask for a reference number and keep the reply.

Swindon usually issues an HMO licence for five years and inspects the home before licensing it. During the licence it inspects again, sometimes without notice, and asks the licence holder each year for current certificates.^[21]

The council's HMO standards (2008) and management guide apply to every HMO, licensed or not. For a shared house they set, among other things:

• a bedroom of at least 7.5 square metres for one person where there is a shared living room, or 10 square metres where there is not
• no more than two people in any bedroom
• a bathroom and a toilet for up to 5 people, with more as numbers rise
• a fire alarm system tested at least monthly and recorded in a log book, and fire doors that close by themselves^[21]

• 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.

Count the sharers first: Swindon licenses only HMOs of 5 or more people from more than one household.^[35] Licences can lapse without renewal, which the council says breaks the Housing Act 2004. Its list shows no licence dates, so ask it in writing when the licence ran.^[22][29]

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 HMO licensing team. Ask Swindon Borough Council whether an effective application or temporary exemption existed and when it took effect.^[21]
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.