Check your council's HMO register — then reclaim the rent

Every local council in England and Wales must keep a public register of licensed houses in multiple occupation (Housing Act 2004 s.232). This directory links all 318 of them, verified against ONS local authority data — with each council's enforcement contacts, the tribunal that decides claims, and plain-English guides to the rent repayment order that can return up to two years' rent (the RRO scheme described here applies in England; Wales runs its own route).

*Illustration: a £20,000 award with the toolkit costing about £22–£27 in credits, versus a claims agency keeping 30% (£6,000). Your figures decide.

Start here

• Is my house an HMO? — the 5-people-2-households test, and the local schemes that go further.
• How to check your council's HMO register — and how to screenshot it properly for evidence.
• Unlicensed HMO? Your rights — what to do in the first 48 hours.
• How much could I claim? — the arithmetic: deductions, conduct, worked examples.
• The Renters' Rights Act 2025 changes — two years' rent, superior landlords, the 28-day notice step.
• The application, step by step — notice, Form RRO1, filing, bundle, hearing.

Browse the directory

• Council HMO registers A–Z — all 318, with verified links where published.
• Selective & additional licensing — the schemes that make even family homes licensable.
• Tribunal regional offices — where Form RRO1 goes, with filing emails.
• Published tribunal decisions — 591 real RRO decisions, linked to GOV.UK.
• Glossary — every term, defined against the statute.