A folder of licences from four councils
If you let student houses across a city, or several cities, you probably hold HMO licences from more than one council, some mandatory and some under additional licensing schemes. Each licence has a list of conditions: occupancy limits per room, certificates to provide on request, notices to display, waste arrangements, response times for certain repairs. Each has its own start and end date.
The licences sit in a shared folder. The conditions are known in broad terms by the portfolio manager, who has been doing this for years and carries a lot of it in their head.
Why licence conditions get missed
The licence is treated as a one-off application rather than a list of ongoing duties. Conditions vary by council and by house, so there is no single checklist. Changes to a house, such as adding a bedroom or changing room sizes, can affect the licence, but nobody links the change to the licence file.
- Conditions are in PDFs, worded differently by each council.
- Renewal dates are in a spreadsheet that is updated occasionally.
- Evidence, such as certificates or photos of displayed notices, is spread across email and folders.
- Room changes are not checked against licence occupancy limits.
- Knowledge sits with one person.
What a missed condition costs
Councils take licensing seriously, and the consequences of a breach are a matter for your own advisers. Even short of that, a missed renewal or a certificate you cannot produce quickly on request creates stress, time and risk at the worst moment, often during a busy letting period. And if the one person who knows the portfolio leaves, the knowledge goes with them.
The licence tracker we build
- Each house gets a record with its licence type, council, licence number, start and end dates, and permitted occupancy per room.
- Conditions are extracted from each licence document and turned into a list, which a person checks and adjusts before it is used.
- Each condition becomes a task with a type: ongoing, recurring on a schedule, or on request. Recurring tasks get due dates and owners.
- Evidence is uploaded against the condition it relates to, such as a certificate, a photo or a record of a check, so it can be found in seconds.
- Renewal dates trigger reminders well in advance, with the documents usually needed for that council gathered in one place.
- When a change is made to a house, such as a room being altered, the tracker prompts a check against the licence occupancy limits.
| Item | Held today | In the tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Licence dates | Spreadsheet | Per house, with reminders |
| Conditions | Task list with owners | |
| Evidence | Email and folders | Attached to each condition |
| Room changes | Not checked | Prompt to check against licence |
| Knowledge | One person | Shared record |
The tracker records what the licence says and what you have done. Whether you meet a condition is for you and your advisers to judge; we do not give legal advice or promise compliance.
What your portfolio looks like with it
Every house shows its licence status and the tasks due. Renewals are prepared calmly, with evidence to hand. If a council asks for a document, it is found quickly. New staff can pick up the portfolio without months of shadowing, and the portfolio manager is no longer the only safeguard.
Is this your situation?
- You hold HMO licences from more than one council.
- Licence conditions sit in PDFs that are rarely reread.
- Renewal dates are tracked in a spreadsheet or someone's memory.
- Finding evidence for a condition takes time.
- One person holds most of the licensing knowledge.