Who Is Responsible for the HMO Licence — Landlord or Letting Agent?

The Short Answer: Usually the Landlord or Named Licence Holder

Under the Housing Act 2004, the person who must hold the property licence is the person having control of the property — almost always the freeholder or long leaseholder. If you own the property, you are legally responsible for ensuring it is properly licensed. Delegating day-to-day management to a letting agent does not transfer that obligation.

This catches landlords in Hammersmith and Fulham constantly. They hire an agent, assume the agent handles everything, and discover months or years later that the property has been unlicensed the entire time.

What the Law Says

The licence holder must be the person with "control" of the property, defined in Section 263 of the Housing Act 2004 as the person who receives the rack rent (the market rent), whether directly or through an agent. For most privately rented properties, that is the owner.

The licence holder can nominate a separate property manager — and the manager's details go on the licence — but the duty to hold the licence sits with the person named as holder. Both the licence holder and manager must pass the fit-and-proper-person test. The owner or named licence holder, rather than the managing agent, is personally exposed for operating an unlicensed property.

A letting agent can be named as the property manager on the licence. They cannot be the licence holder unless they also have legal control of the property (which is rare outside corporate landlord structures).

What Standard Agent Contracts Actually Cover

Most letting agent agreements in London fall into one of three tiers:

Tenant-find only. The agent advertises the property, conducts viewings, references the tenant, and hands the tenancy over. No ongoing management. Licensing is not even on the table.

Rent collection. The agent collects rent and handles basic tenant queries. The management agreement typically excludes regulatory compliance, or mentions it in passing without committing the agent to handle it. Licensing remains the landlord's responsibility.

Full management. The broadest tier, covering maintenance, inspections and sometimes statutory compliance. Even here, the contract language often carves out property licensing as a separate service — check the specific wording. If the contract says the agent "assists with" or "advises on" licensing, that is not the same as the agent being contractually obligated to submit the application and maintain compliance.

Why This Matters in Hammersmith and Fulham

LBHF operates three licensing schemes covering a wide range of properties. A property managed by an agent on Askew Road or North End Road needs a selective licence. A shared property managed by an agent anywhere in the borough may need an additional or mandatory HMO licence. The agent may or may not be aware of this, and the penalty for non-compliance falls on the landlord regardless.

Civil penalties for operating without a licence reach up to £40,000 per offence. Tenants in an unlicensed property can apply for a Rent Repayment Order covering up to 24 months of rent. Section 21 no-fault evictions have been abolished under the Renters' Rights Act. None of these consequences are reduced because an agent was involved — the owner or named licence holder remains responsible for the licensing obligations.

What You Should Check

If you use a letting agent for a property in Hammersmith and Fulham:

• Read the management agreement and identify exactly what it says about property licensing. Look for exclusion clauses.
• Confirm whether the property needs a licence (occupancy test, address check against the 24 selective streets).
• If a licence is required, verify it is in place — check the LBHF public register or request confirmation from the council's Private Sector Housing Team.
• If the agent claims to have submitted the application, ask for the licence reference number and check it against the register.

Assuming the agent has handled it is the single most common reason landlords in London end up operating unlicensed properties — and paying the consequences personally.

The Hammersmith and Fulham Landlord Licensing Guide includes an agent audit checklist: the exact questions to ask your agent and the contract clauses to look for.

See more England guides →