HMO landlords under the new rules: where licensing meets the Act

Two regimes now run side by side. HMO licensing is unchanged by the Renters' Rights Act: mandatory licensing still applies to properties rented to five or more people forming more than one household, and boroughs still layer additional and selective schemes on top. What changed is the tenancy law underneath every room you let.

What the Act changed for your shared house

• Room tenancies that were ASTs became periodic assured tenancies on 1 May 2026, like every other assured tenancy.
• Sharers can leave with 2 months' written notice, which changes how you plan for room turnover.
• Room adverts must state an asking rent and cannot invite offers above it.
• Advance rent is capped at one month per tenancy.
• Each written tenancy needed the official Information Sheet by 31 May 2026, per tenancy, not per house.

What did not change

Licensing thresholds, borough schemes, fire safety expectations and management regulations all continue as before. If your licence conditions were demanding last year, they are exactly as demanding now. The Act adds tenancy-law obligations on top rather than replacing anything.

One caveat worth stating plainly: how the new tenancy rules interact with a specific letting depends on how it is structured, and shared-house arrangements vary. Check your setup against current GOV.UK guidance rather than assuming a neighbour's answer fits your house.

Licensing tells you what the building must be. The Act now tells you what every tenancy inside it must be.

General guidance, not legal advice. If you run rooms and want the licensing position and the tenancy paperwork checked together, that is precisely what we do, starting with a free compliance review.

Written by