By Stuart Bradley, Branch Manager · 6 minute read
In Cambridge, HMO licensing currently follows the national rule: a licence is required once a property has five or more tenants forming two or more households. Smaller shared houses (three or four sharers) legally count as HMOs too but don’t currently need a licence here, unlike in some neighbouring areas. Separately, there’s a live campaign to bring smaller HMOs under planning control, which is worth understanding even though it doesn’t touch licensing directly.
Licensing rules are reviewed and can change on the council’s own timetable, not ours. Rather than write you a guide that’s quietly wrong the day the position shifts, we’ve built this around what’s actually true today, been clear about what’s being discussed for the future, and linked out to live sources for anything that moves.
What counts as an HMO?
A property is an HMO if it’s occupied by three or more tenants, forming two or more separate households, who share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen. A “household” means a single person or people who are related or live together as a couple. Three friends sharing a house are three households sharing facilities, and that’s an HMO, however ordinary the arrangement looks.
This definition comes from the Housing Act 2004 and applies nationally. What varies by council – and this is the point worth understanding – is which of those HMOs actually need a licence.
Mandatory licensing, and why smaller HMOs currently sit outside it
There’s one licensing regime that applies in Cambridge today: mandatory licensing, set nationally, which requires a licence for any HMO with five or more occupants forming two or more households. Some councils go further and run their own “additional licensing” scheme on top of that, extending the requirement down to smaller HMOs – typically three or four sharers. Cambridge does not currently run one of these, even though several nearby authorities do, including Peterborough.
That means a standard house share of three or four unrelated tenants is legally an HMO under the Housing Act definition, but as things stand it doesn’t need a licence in Cambridge. It still has to meet general legal standards for safety and management – being unlicensed because no licence is currently required is not the same as being exempt from every other landlord obligation.
Planning permission could soon apply to smaller HMOs too
Licensing is one system; planning permission is a separate one. Converting a family home into a shared house currently needs planning permission only once it reaches seven occupants. Below that, a conversion for up to six people is normally “permitted development” – allowed without a planning application at all.
That’s the specific right a local campaign wants removed. Following a public petition and a Cambridge City Council meeting on 16 July 2026, councillors from across parties agreed that action on HMOs was needed, and the council’s Labour leader has described this kind of planning restriction – known as an Article 4 direction – as “a highly important tool”. Introducing one would mean any new HMO for three or more people needs full planning permission, not just those for seven or more as now. The petition also proposed capping HMOs at no more than 10% of properties within 100 metres of each other, though that specific idea has had a more mixed reception among councillors.
| Nothing has been decided. Council officers are preparing a report for cabinet, expected in autumn 2026, to work out how an Article 4 direction could be implemented “legally and robustly” — the council leader has been clear it needs strong evidence behind it, not just political will. Oxford and Bristol already operate similar restrictions, so there’s a precedent for what Cambridge might adopt, but there’s no confirmed date and no guarantee of the exact form it would take. If you’re planning an HMO conversion in Cambridge, this is genuinely worth watching rather than assuming today’s permitted development rights are permanent — Greater Cambridge Shared Planning’s own pages, linked below, are the place to check for updates. |
Cambridge City Council currently licenses close to 1,000 HMOs under the existing mandatory scheme – useful context for the scale of what any change would affect, even though that figure covers licensed (five-plus person) properties rather than the smaller ones a new planning direction would target.
The standards a licensed HMO has to meet
Licensed HMOs are held to minimum standards for bedroom sizes and shared facilities, set nationally as a floor and often built on further by individual councils – Cambridge publishes its own housing standard covering kitchens, bathrooms and communal space on top of the national minimums. As with the fees and thresholds above, these figures are the kind of detail that’s reviewed periodically, so we’d rather point you to the council’s current published standard than risk quoting you a measurement that’s since been revised.
What’s worth knowing in the meantime: room sizes are measured on usable floor area, and a council officer will physically inspect the property as part of any application – so it’s far better to check a property against the current standard before you commit to a layout or a purchase, not after.
What a licence costs and how long it takes
A mandatory HMO licence lasts up to five years once granted. Fees are set and reviewed by the council, typically on an annual cycle, and can differ depending on when you apply relative to an existing licence’s expiry – because this is one of the figures most likely to have changed since anything was last written about it, we’ve linked directly to Cambridge City Council’s current fee schedule below rather than reproduce a number here.
There’s no automatic renewal – it’s the landlord’s responsibility to reapply before the existing licence runs out, and the council can grant a shorter period than the full five years if it has concerns about the property or how it’s managed. As part of any application, expect the council to check that the applicant is a suitable person to hold a licence and that the property is suitable, or can be made suitable, for the number of people it would house.
| Thinking about an HMO conversion in Cambridge?
We’ll tell you honestly whether the numbers work before you spend anything – including checking your specific property against the council’s current licensing and planning position. |
Is converting a family let to an HMO still worth it in Cambridge?
Often, yes – Cambridge’s student and young-professional population means demand for shared housing is genuinely strong, and a well-run HMO can outperform the same property let as a single family home. But the licensing and planning position set out above changes the arithmetic in a way a simple yield calculation misses, and it’s specific to the property, not a general rule.
Before treating a conversion as straightforward, weigh in: the licence fee itself, any planning application if it turns out to be needed, the cost of any works needed to meet current room size and amenity standards, and the ongoing management intensity of a shared house against a single-family let – more tenants generally means more turnover and more day-to-day management, which is exactly where a fully managed service does genuine work rather than sitting idle.
The honest answer for most landlords considering this for the first time is that it’s worth a proper feasibility conversation before any money changes hands. The licensing and planning position on a specific property can make or break the numbers in a way that isn’t obvious from the outside – and it’s exactly the kind of question that’s worth asking us directly rather than relying on any general guide, including this one.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do I need an HMO licence for a small shared house in Cambridge?
Not currently, if it’s three or four sharers. Cambridge only operates mandatory licensing, which applies at five or more occupants forming two or more households – there’s no local scheme extending that down to smaller shared houses at the moment, unlike some nearby areas. It’s still legally an HMO and still has to meet general safety and management standards. Separately, there’s a live campaign for planning permission to apply to smaller HMOs, so check current guidance before assuming today’s position is permanent.
How much does an HMO licence cost in Cambridge?
The fee is set and reviewed by Cambridge City Council, typically on an annual cycle, and can vary depending on when you apply relative to any existing licence. Because this figure changes periodically, the council’s own published fee schedule is the reliable source – we’ve linked to it below rather than quote a number that may since have moved.
How long does an HMO licence last?
Up to five years. There’s no automatic renewal, so it’s the landlord’s responsibility to reapply before the existing licence expires – operating on an expired licence is treated the same as never having had one. The council can grant a shorter period than the full five years if it has concerns about the property or its management.
What happens if I let an unlicensed HMO?
If the property is required to be licensed – currently, five or more occupants forming two or more households – you risk a civil penalty imposed by the council, criminal prosecution with an unlimited fine, and a rent repayment order allowing a tenant or the council to reclaim rent paid during the unlicensed period. Serious or repeat cases can lead to a banning order or the council taking over management of the property. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 increased the maximum penalties available from 1 May 2026.
Does the Renters’ Rights Act change the HMO licensing rules?
It doesn’t change who needs a licence – the mandatory licensing threshold is unaffected, and it has no bearing on whether Cambridge introduces a local scheme or an Article 4 direction in future, since those are separate decisions for the council. What it changed, from 1 May 2026, is the consequences of getting an existing licensing obligation wrong: councils gained stronger enforcement powers, the maximum civil penalty for unlicensed HMOs increased, and the maximum rent repayment order period was extended. The current maximum figures are published by government and worth checking directly for the precise numbers.
Does the Renters’ Rights Act change the HMO licensing rules?
It doesn’t change who needs a licence – mandatory and local licensing schemes continue to operate as before. What it changed, from 1 May 2026, is the consequences of getting it wrong: councils gained stronger enforcement powers, maximum civil penalties for unlicensed HMOs increased, and the rent repayment order period was extended. The current maximum figures are published by the government and worth checking directly for the precise numbers.
Where to check the current figures
For anything numeric – the exact occupancy thresholds, license fees, and current penalty maximums – these are the sources we’d check ourselves:
- Cambridge City Council’s HMO licensing pages — current schemes, thresholds and fees for licenses in Cambridge.
- Greater Cambridge Shared Planning — the current position on an Article 4 direction for HMOs, including the cabinet report expected in autumn 2026.
- UK guidance on the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 — current maximum civil penalties and rent repayment order limits.
Or, more simply: ask us. Checking a specific property against all of the above is exactly the kind of thing we do routinely, and it’s a faster, more reliable answer than working from any published guide.
| Licensing in Cambridge catches more landlords than they expect. If you manage a shared house here, or you’re thinking about converting one, we’re happy to check exactly where you stand – against the council’s current rules, and looking at anything that’s about to change. |
| “Landlords sometimes assume that because Cambridge doesn’t currently license smaller shared houses, that’s a settled position – it isn’t. There’s a live campaign, real cross-party support at the council, and a report due before cabinet this autumn on introducing planning restrictions for exactly this kind of property. Nothing’s decided yet, but Oxford and Bristol already have similar rules, so it’s not a fringe idea. If you’re thinking about a conversion in Cambridge, that’s a conversation worth having before you commit, not after.”
Stuart Bradley, Branch Manager, Belvoir Cambridge |
