Is a property guardian building an HMO? Why it matters

Picture this

Say you've lived in a former care home with nine other guardians for a year. You all share the kitchen and bathrooms.

Then you find out it never had an HMO licence. Does that matter? Is the building even safe? This guide helps you work it out.

This is a made-up example, not a real case.

In short

• A shared guardian building can be an HMO. The Court of Appeal confirmed this in 2023.
• With 5 or more people from 2 or more households, it needs a licence. Some councils license smaller HMOs too.
• HMOs have extra safety rules, such as clear fire escapes and working fire alarms.
• Check the council's register or ask the firm for the licence. Not being on a register online doesn't prove a building is unlicensed.
• If a building needed a licence and didn't have one, you may be able to get payments back.

What is an HMO?

An HMO is a home rented by at least 3 people who are not from one household, who share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen (GOV.UK).

A household means a family: you, your partner and your relatives. Two friends are two households.

Is my building an HMO? A quick check

1. 1

   Do at least 3 people live there who aren't one household?

   Yes: go on to the next question. No: it isn't an HMO.
2. 2

   Do you share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen?

   Yes, and yes to the first question: it is likely to be an HMO. A self-contained flat or house let to one household is not an HMO at all.
3. 3

   Are there 5 or more people from 2 or more households?

   Yes: it needs a mandatory licence (2018 regulations). No: it may still need one if your council licenses smaller HMOs. Ask the council.

This fits many guardian buildings. Shelter says a guardian building is likely to need a licence if you live with people who aren't your spouse, partner or relative (Shelter Legal).

Some buildings are exempt.

When does it need a licence?

• Mandatory licence

  Needed everywhere in England for an HMO with 5 or more people in 2 or more households (2018 regulations; GOV.UK).

• Additional licensing

  A council can require licences for smaller HMOs in all or part of its area (Housing Act 2004, s.56).

• Selective licensing

  A council can require a licence for rented homes in an area, including homes let on a licence (s.79).

A licence lasts up to 5 years, and each HMO needs its own (GOV.UK).

Where a council or NHS body owns a guardian building, firms have argued that this took them outside the rules. The Upper Tribunal rejected that on the facts of two cases (2023; 2025).

So don't assume a public owner means no licence is needed.

Guardian buildings can be HMOs: the 2023 ruling

Firms argued that guardians are there to protect the building, so living there isn't the building's "only use". That matters, because the legal test for an HMO asks whether living there is the only use.

The courts disagreed. The Court of Appeal said "use" (what the rooms are used for) and "purpose" (why the firm put people there) are different things.

The guardians' only duty was to live there, so the buildings were HMOs (Court of Appeal, 2023, upholding Upper Tribunal, 2022).

A tribunal has also upheld a council's formal decision that a guardian building was an HMO (2022).

What a licensed HMO must have

For a licence, the council checks these (GOV.UK):

• Room for everyone

  The building is suitable for the number of people living there.

• A fit manager

  The manager is a "fit and proper" person.

• Gas safety

  There is a new gas safety certificate every year.

• Smoke alarms

  Fitted and kept working.

• Electrical safety

  Electrical appliances have safety certificates if asked.

The council can add its own conditions. Separate rules apply to every HMO, licensed or not (management regulations). The manager must:

• Share contact details

  Give every household their name, address and phone number, and put them up somewhere easy to see (reg 3).

• Keep fire safety working

  Keep fire escape routes clear and fire alarms and equipment working (reg 4).

• Keep things in repair

  Keep water, drainage, gas, electricity, shared areas and your room in good repair, and provide bins (regs 5 to 9).

Fire safety law also covers the shared parts of an HMO (GOV.UK fact sheet).

London's fire brigade expects guardian buildings to have a fire risk assessment, and looks out for locked or blocked exits (LFB guidance).

In one case a council fined a guardian firm £5,000 for not keeping fire escapes clear, on top of £20,000 for having no licence (tribunal, 2022).

How to check if it's licensed

1. 1

   Ask the firm

   Ask for a copy of the HMO licence, before you sign. The government's advice is to check with the council too (GOV.UK fact sheet).
2. 2

   Look at the council's public register

   Every council must keep one, open to the public at its head office, and give copies (it may charge) (s.232).
3. 3

   Call the council's private housing team

   Do this if you can't find it.

Be ready for this to be hard. On 27 October 2026 we looked at the registers of 42 councils with guardian homes.

Only 12 could be searched by who holds the licence. 4 gave addresses only, and 26 had no register we could use online.

Some offered only a one-postcode search. Some only sent a list on request, sometimes for a fee.

If it should be licensed and isn't

• Tell the council

  Renting out an unlicensed HMO is an offence, with an unlimited fine (GOV.UK).

  A clause telling you to keep quiet can't stop you reporting safety problems (GOV.UK fact sheet).

  Councils haven't always looked closely at guardian buildings (government research, 2022), so be clear and keep copies.

• Claim payments back

  Running an unlicensed HMO is one of the offences that lets you ask a tribunal for a rent repayment order (Housing and Planning Act 2016, s.40).

  Time limits are strict: see rent repayment orders explained.

• Get free advice

  From Shelter, Citizens Advice or a local housing advice centre.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

The rules start lower. In Scotland, a licence is needed once 3 or more unrelated people live there, and an unlicensed HMO is a crime (mygov.scot).

Northern Ireland also starts at 3 unrelated people (Housing Rights). We found no official advice on guardians in either, so ask a local adviser.

Questions people ask