HMOs can be the strongest performers in a portfolio, but they are also the most regulated way to let a property. Before your first tenant moves in, make sure you can answer yes to all seven of these.
1. Do you need a licence?
Any HMO occupied by five or more people from two or more households needs a mandatory HMO licence, anywhere in England. Across Cheshire that is currently the only licence most landlords need: Halton has never run a selective scheme and Cheshire East shelved its proposed one, but always check your own council’s current position. Letting without a required licence risks unlimited fines and rent repayment orders. Our Cheshire licensing guide covers both the rules and the exceptions.
2. Do you need planning permission?
Licensing and planning are separate regimes. HMOs for seven or more people always need planning permission, and in areas covered by an Article 4 direction (parts of Halton since September 2025, and areas of Chester), so does converting a house into an HMO for three or more. Check before you buy, not after. See our planning permission guide for the full picture.
3. Are your safety certificates in place?
You need an annual gas safety record (CP12), an electrical installation condition report (EICR) at least every five years, a fire risk assessment with interlinked smoke alarms and heat detection in kitchens, protected escape routes, and furniture that meets fire resistance standards. In an HMO these are inspected, not assumed.
4. Do the rooms meet minimum sizes?
Licensed HMOs have prescribed minimums: 6.51m² for one adult, 10.22m² for two adults, 4.64m² for a child under ten. A box room that fails the minimum is not a bedroom, whatever the floorplan says. If you are converting, design to these numbers from the outset.
5. Are you handling money correctly?
Deposits are capped at five weeks’ rent for most tenancies and must be protected in a government scheme within 30 days, with the prescribed information served. Since the Renters’ Rights Act took effect, advance rent is capped at one month and rental bidding is banned.
6. Do your tenancies comply with the Renters’ Rights Act?
Since 1 May 2026, all assured tenancies are periodic, Section 21 notices are gone, rent increases go through the Section 13 process once a year, and every tenant must receive a written statement of terms. In an HMO with four or five separate tenancies, that is four or five sets of paperwork to get right.
7. Who is actually going to manage it?
More tenants means more turnover, more maintenance and more certificates to track. If you have the time and systems, self-managing can work. If not, a managing agent’s fee usually costs less than one void period, one missed renewal or one badly chosen tenant.
How PYC Property can help
PYC Property manages HMOs and single lets across Widnes, Runcorn and the wider Cheshire area, with fees published openly: tenant introduction from £350, semi-managed at 7% + VAT and fully managed at 8% + VAT of monthly rent. For a free, no-obligation review of your property, call 0800 654 6485 or send an enquiry through our contact page.
This article is general information for landlords, not legal or planning advice, and reflects the position at the time of writing. Rules change, so always confirm current requirements with your local council and gov.uk, or ask us.