If you own a shared house, or you are thinking about converting one, we will keep it full, compliant and profitable.
What our HMO management service includes
- Room marketing, viewings and tenant referencing
- Licensing applications and renewals with the local council
- Fire safety, gas, electrical and HMO standards compliance
- Rent collection per room with monthly statements
- Cleaning, maintenance and utilities coordination
- Regular inspections of communal areas and rooms
- Tenant management, disputes and turnover between rooms
Our fees
HMO management is 12% plus VAT of monthly rent, which covers the extra compliance and tenant turnover work shared houses involve. These are the main charges from our published HMO schedule, all plus VAT:
| Item | Fee (plus VAT) |
|---|---|
| HMO management | 12% of monthly rent |
| Find tenant fee, per tenant | £300 |
| Tenant referencing, per tenant | £30 |
| Inventory, per room and communal areas | £30 |
| Deposit registration with the DPS, per deposit | Included |
| Rent and legal protection insurance, per room per year | £275 |
| Gas safety inspection, boiler only | £75 |
| EPC | £125 |
| EICR inspection and report | POA |
| Communal clean, every 3 weeks (first clean £80) | £60 |
Maintenance is charged at contractor cost with no markup. Full details are on our fees page, the fee calculator gives an instant monthly figure, and our guide to what HMO management costs compares how agents charge.
Licensing and planning by council, October 2026
Two separate sets of rules apply to a shared house. Licensing is run by the council's housing team. Planning, including Article 4 directions that remove the right to turn a family home into a small HMO, is run by the planning team. This is where each council in our patch stood when we last checked:
| Council | Licensing | HMO Article 4 (C3 to C4) |
|---|---|---|
| Kirklees (Huddersfield) | Mandatory only, £664 to £882 | None HMO-specific found |
| Leeds | Mandatory, plus selective licensing in parts of six wards | Yes, 14 areas including Headingley and Hyde Park |
| North Yorkshire (Harrogate area) | Mandatory only, £980 to £1,185 | None HMO-specific found |
| Barnsley | Mandatory for five or more sharers; ask the council about other schemes | Yes, the whole borough since June 2021 |
"None HMO-specific found" means we could not find a direction removing the C3 to C4 right on the council's pages. Other Article 4 directions, conservation areas and planning conditions can still apply to a particular street, and councils can bring in new schemes, so we check every address with the council before you commit. Our HMO fire safety checklist and HMO or single let comparison are worth reading before you buy.
Taking over a struggling HMO
Rooms sitting empty, compliance drifting, an agent who has gone quiet, or a shared house you have inherited or bought as a problem: we take these on. There is a dedicated page on how our HMO rescue service works, from the compliance audit to remarketing the rooms. A plain switch from another agent costs nothing; a recovery package carries a small fee agreed up front. Our guide on why HMO rooms sit empty covers the usual causes.
Why HMO landlords choose Livdin
We know the licensing schemes run by Kirklees, Leeds, North Yorkshire and Barnsley councils, we understand the Article 4 directions that restrict new HMO conversions, and we keep rooms filled so your gross yield actually arrives. You get one named contact and a 24/7 owner portal.
Who this suits
Owners of licensed or licensable HMOs who want the rooms let and the licence conditions kept. Investors buying their first shared house who want the planning and licensing position checked before they exchange; our guide to buying a tenanted HMO covers the checks. And landlords whose house has drifted out of compliance or whose agent has stopped answering.
What happens next
- Send us the address and number of rooms with the form below, or call 01484 981717.
- Within one working day we come back with realistic room rates and whether the house needs a licence.
- We review the licence, fire safety, gas, electrical and deposit position. You see the fee and anything that needs fixing before you sign anything.
- If the house is with another agent, we time the handover to your notice period, usually one to three months.
Local HMO management
Licensing, planning and room rents change from one council to the next, so each city we work in has its own page:
- HMO management in Huddersfield: our home patch, where Kirklees runs mandatory licensing only
- HMO management in Leeds: mandatory, selective and Article 4 rules layered across the city
- HMO management in Harrogate: premium rooms, mandatory licensing only, the highest rents in our patch
Anything else, use our contact page.