Is My Property an HMO in Barnet? A Quick Classification Guide

You let a three-bedroom house in Hendon to a group of young professionals. They each pay you separately, share the kitchen and bathroom, and none of them are related. That property is almost certainly an HMO — and in Barnet, it needs a licence. Many landlords do not realise this until a council letter arrives.

What Counts as an HMO

Under the standard HMO test in Section 254 of the Housing Act 2004, a shared house or flat is an HMO when at least three people from two or more households occupy it as their only or main residence (or are treated as doing so), rent or other consideration is payable for at least one occupier, and the households share one or more basic amenities — a kitchen, bathroom or toilet — or the accommodation lacks one.

Under Section 258, family members include spouses, civil partners and cohabiting couples; relatives include parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces and cousins. The definition also covers certain relatives of couples, half-blood relatives and stepchildren. Friends, colleagues and other people outside these relationships form separate households.

So three unrelated friends sharing a flat = three people, three households, shared amenities. That is an HMO.

Where the Licence Threshold Sits in Barnet

Barnet operates two active HMO licensing schemes:

Mandatory HMO licensing applies to properties occupied by five or more people from two or more households who share amenities. This is a national requirement — it applies everywhere in England, regardless of what the local council decides.

Additional HMO licensing is a local designation. Barnet's borough-wide additional scheme has been in force since 27 October 2022 and runs until 27 October 2027. It covers every property in the borough occupied by three or four people from two or more households who share amenities.

Between the two, an HMO in Barnet with three or more occupants from two or more households generally needs a licence unless a statutory exemption applies.

Common Scenarios That Catch Landlords Out

The accidental HMO. You let your former home to a couple and their friend. Three people, two households (the couple is one, the friend is another), shared kitchen. That is an additional HMO and it needs a licence. Many accidental landlords assume the rules only apply to large shared houses — they do not.

Three sharers in a flat. A two-bedroom flat let to three working professionals, each on a separate tenancy or named on a joint tenancy, sharing the kitchen and bathroom. Three people, three households. Licensable.

A couple joins an existing tenant. You let a property to one person. They move their partner in, and a friend takes the spare room. You now have three people forming two households (the couple plus the friend). If they share amenities, the property has become an HMO.

Two sharers — no licence needed. A flat let to exactly two unrelated people sharing a kitchen and bathroom does not meet Barnet's additional licensing occupancy threshold, which starts at three. A qualifying converted block may still need its own Section 257 licence. This changes when a third person becomes an occupier.

Purpose-Built Flats Are Not Exempt

A common misconception is that purpose-built flats cannot be HMOs. They can. If a purpose-built flat in Barnet is occupied by three or four people from two or more households sharing amenities, it falls within the additional licensing scheme on the same basis as a converted house. The building type does not matter — the occupancy structure does.

How to Check

Run through three questions:

1. How many people live in the property? Count people who occupy it as their only or main residence, or are treated as doing so under Section 259. A frequent visitor is not automatically an occupier.

2. How many households do they form? Group people who are married, cohabiting or in a direct family relationship. Everyone outside those groups is a separate household.

3. Do they share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet? If yes, and the answers to questions one and two give you three or more people from two or more households, the property is an HMO.

If the property is an HMO with three or four occupants from two or more households, it needs an additional HMO licence in Barnet unless an exemption applies. If it reaches five or more occupants from two or more households, it needs a mandatory HMO licence unless an exemption applies.

What Happens If You Do Not Apply

Operating a licensable HMO without the required licence is an offence under Section 72(1) of the Housing Act 2004. The council can impose civil penalties of up to £40,000 per offence. Tenants can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order recovering up to 24 months of rent. If a required HMO licence application is refused or an existing licence is revoked, Ground 6B under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 allows a landlord to seek possession to comply with enforcement action.

Getting Sorted

If you have realised your property is an HMO and needs a licence, the priority is to apply promptly. A pending application gives you statutory protection from prosecution for unlicensed letting while the council processes it. The Barnet Landlord Licensing guide takes you through the full classification, documents, fees and portal process step by step.

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