Letting an HMO Room by Room: Deposits, Rent and Notice

"Letting room by room" and "HMO" get used as if they meant the same thing. They do not. One is a legal status that turns on who lives in the property. The other is a choice about how many agreements you sign. This guide separates the two, then sets out what a room-by-room let changes: mostly arithmetic, with one sharp legal edge on deposits.

Correct as at 13 October 2026, against legislation.gov.uk.

First: how you let it is not what makes it an HMO

Whether a building is an HMO turns on the tests in Housing Act 2004 s.254. Under the standard test, the question is whether the living accommodation is occupied by persons who do not form a single household, as their only or main residence, sharing (or lacking) basic amenities.

"Household" is about relationship, not paperwork. Under s.258, people are a single household only if they are members of the same family: a couple, or relatives such as parents, children, siblings, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces and cousins. Four unrelated sharers are four households, even on one joint tenancy.

So:

• letting room by room does not, by itself, make a property an HMO;
• letting on one agreement does not stop a property being an HMO.

The same is true of licensing. The mandatory licensing threshold counts persons and households, five or more persons in two or more households (SI 2018/221 art 4), not agreements. The HMO licence guide covers the tests and licensing in full.

What room-by-room letting does change

Where each room is let on its own assured tenancy, each room has its own tenancy. Everything that attaches to a tenancy attaches to each one separately. Eight rooms means eight of everything below, each running on its own clock.

Deposits: one clock per tenancy

This is the sharpest consequence. Under s.213(3), a landlord who receives a tenancy deposit in connection with an assured tenancy must comply with the initial requirements of an authorised scheme within the period of 30 days beginning with the date on which it is received. Under s.213(6), the prescribed information must be given to the tenant within the same 30 days. Correct as at 13 October 2026.

"Beginning with" means the day of receipt is day 1. A deposit received on 1 October must be protected, and the prescribed information given, by 30 October.

With rooms let separately:

• each deposit is protected separately, with its own scheme reference;
• each tenant gets their own prescribed information;
• each clock starts when that deposit was received. Five rooms let in five different months have five different deadlines.

A single "the house's deposit" does not exist in a room-by-room let. A spreadsheet with one deposit row per property cannot represent it.

If one room's deposit is missed

The consequences attach to that tenancy:

• The money. The tenant, or a former tenant, can apply to the county court. If the deposit was not protected or the prescribed information was not given within the 30 days, the court must order you to pay between one and three times the amount of that deposit, and will deal with the deposit itself (s.214). Correct as at 13 October 2026.
• Possession. A court can make a possession order on that tenancy only if the deposit is held in a scheme, the scheme's requirements on receiving it have been met, and the prescribed information has been given (s.215, as substituted from 1 May 2026). This does not apply to an order on Ground 7A or 14, or once the deposit has been returned or a claim under s.214 has been decided or settled.

One unprotected deposit affects one tenancy. It does not touch the other rooms, which is exactly why each needs tracking on its own.

Rent: one review per tenancy

Each room's rent is reviewed through that tenancy's own section 13 notice, on Form 4A, on that tenancy's own timetable. There is no building-wide rent review. Rooms let at different times reach their review dates at different times.

Notice: each tenant gives their own

A tenant ends an assured periodic tenancy by notice under Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.5(1ZA)(a), as inserted by the Renters' Rights Act 2025: at least two months, or a shorter period you have agreed in writing. Correct as at 13 October 2026.

In a room-by-room let, each room's tenant gives notice for their own tenancy. One tenant leaving ends one tenancy; the rest carry on.

The building's duties do not split

Licensing, the HMO management regulations, gas and electrical safety, and the shared areas belong to the building, not to any one room. They are done once, for the whole property, however many agreements you have. See what the HMO management regulations require.

Keeping eight clocks straight

LetSorted lets an HMO room by room: each room has its own tenancy, rent and deposit, with a "Protect by" date counted from the day that deposit was received. The building's licence and checks are kept once, for the building. See how LetSorted tracks each room.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does letting room by room make my property an HMO?

No. Whether a property is an HMO turns on the tests in Housing Act 2004 s.254 — broadly, whether people from more than one household share it as their main home — not on how many agreements you sign. A house let on one joint tenancy to unrelated sharers can be an HMO, and letting room by room does not by itself make a property one. Correct as at 13 October 2026.

How many deposits do I protect if I let five rooms separately?

Five. Where each room is let on its own assured tenancy, each deposit is a separate tenancy deposit with its own 30-day period, beginning with the day that deposit was received, to protect it and give the prescribed information (Housing Act 2004 s.213(3) and (6)). Correct as at 13 October 2026.

What happens if one room's deposit is not protected?

That tenant can apply to the county court, which must order you to pay between one and three times that deposit (Housing Act 2004 s.214), and the court can make a possession order on that tenancy only once the deposit requirements are met, except on Ground 7A or 14 (s.215, as substituted from 1 May 2026). Correct as at 13 October 2026.