Southampton HMO Register: How to Check if a Property Is Licensed

Southampton City Council publishes a public register of licensed HMOs on its website. Landlords use it to check whether competitors are compliant, tenants use it to verify their own property, and prospective buyers use it to confirm the licensing status of an investment purchase. The register works, but it has real limitations.

What the Register Shows

The public HMO register is published as a downloadable PDF. It lists the address of each licensed property, the licence holder's name, the licence number and the expiry date. It covers both mandatory and additional HMO licences issued by Southampton City Council.

The register is updated periodically — not in real time. The council refreshes it on its own schedule, so a licence granted last week may not appear yet.

How to Search It

Because the register is a PDF rather than a searchable database, checking a specific address means downloading the document and using your browser's or PDF reader's search function. There is no postcode lookup tool, no interactive map and no API. For a single address this is manageable. For checking multiple properties across a portfolio, it is slow.

Search by street name rather than full address. The register may format house numbers, flat designations or postcodes differently from how you would write them.

What the Register Does Not Show

Pending applications. A property with a duly made application that is still being processed will not appear on the register. The landlord is legally protected during the processing period under Section 72(4), but the register does not reflect that. A property missing from the register could be unlicensed, or it could be mid-application.

Properties that do not need a licence. Single-household rentals, properties below the occupancy threshold and properties outside the nine additional-licensing wards do not appear — because they do not need a licence. Absence from the register is not automatically evidence of an offence.

Expired or revoked licences. The register shows current licences. Once a licence expires or is revoked, the entry may be removed. If you are checking a property's historical licensing status, the register alone will not tell you.

For Tenants: What to Do if Your Property Is Not Listed

If you live in a shared house or flat in Southampton and cannot find it on the public register, that does not necessarily mean the landlord is breaking the law. The property might not meet the licensing criteria (fewer than three households sharing, or outside the nine wards for a smaller HMO). The landlord might have a duly made application being processed. Or the register might not have been updated.

If you believe the property should be licensed — because you share with two or more other households and the property is in a designated ward — contact the council's HMO licensing team on 023 8083 3006 (Option 5) or through the web enquiry form. The team can confirm whether a licence or application exists for the address. If neither does, and the property is licensable, the council can investigate.

Tenants in genuinely unlicensed HMOs have the right to apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order covering up to 24 months of rent for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026, or up to 12 months for earlier offences.

For Landlords: Checking Your Own Entry

After your licence is granted, verify that your property appears on the register with the correct details. If the address, licence holder name or expiry date is wrong, contact the licensing team to get it corrected. An incorrect register entry can create confusion for tenants, mortgage lenders and future buyers.

For the full licensing process including how to get your application registered as "duly made," see our Southampton landlord licensing guide.

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