Shared homes in Pompey

Do not add these together. Each counts something different, on a different date.

The council's estimate has been a flat 6,000 since 2021/22, and each council chooses its own method. Register records are not properties: Records, not properties: 49 UPRNs repeat across 370 rows (largest group 125 rows); no rows are deduplicated.

1 September 2023: Citywide additional licensing began: every HMO of 3+ people in 2+ households (and mainly tenanted section 257 buildings) now needs a licence. The register gained a new category.

22 June 2026: HMO licensing moved from Rocktime Verso to Metastreet (old system closed 10am, 22 June 2026). The council says some migrated information "may be labelled differently or need updating".

Partly published: Applications received, valid, pending, withdrawn, refused, issued; Split by mandatory, additional and Section 257; 1, 2.5 and 5-year licences issued.

Partly published: Properties inspected and desktop-assessed; Category 1 and 2 hazards found and remedied; Fire, electrical, amenity, overcrowding and waste failures.

Not published: Suspected unlicensed HMOs reported and investigated; Brought into licensing or ceased HMO use; Improvement and prohibition notices.

Not published: Justified complaints per 100 licensed properties; Complaint category and ward; Tenant and neighbour satisfaction.

Partly published: Applications by type, decision and ward; Concentration-test result; Committee or delegated decision.

Partly published: People placed in HMO rooms via homelessness prevention/relief; Moves from temporary accommodation; Sustainment at 6 and 12 months.

HMO under the Housing Act 2004 (section 254). A home shared by 3 or more people who form 2 or more households (a household is one person or a family) and who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. It can be a house, a flat or a converted building, and it must be their main home.

Planning use: Class C4 (small HMO) and sui generis (large HMO). For planning, a home lived in by 3 to 6 unrelated people who share basic amenities is Class C4. With more than 6 people it falls outside any use class ("sui generis") and always needs planning permission. In Portsmouth a citywide Article 4 Direction means changing a family house (C3) to C4 also needs permission.

Mandatory HMO licence (national). Any HMO with 5 or more people forming 2 or more households must have a council licence, anywhere in England. Since 1 October 2018 the number of storeys does not matter.

Additional HMO licence (local scheme). A council can require smaller HMOs to be licensed too, in all or part of its area, for up to 5 years. Portsmouth's citywide scheme runs from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2028 and covers HMOs of 3 or more people in 2 or more households, plus mainly tenanted section 257 buildings.

Section 257 HMO (converted block of flats). A building converted into self-contained flats where the conversion did not meet the 1991 Building Regulations and fewer than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied. The licence is for the building; individual flats may need their own HMO licence as well.