Houses of multiple occupancy licensing (stirling council) housing - open data Edit

Introduced in Scotland from October 2000, the licensing of houses in multiple occupation (HMO) is a crucial element within the private rented sector regulatory framework, helping to improve both physical accommodation standards and the management of tenancy issues. HMOs provide an important supply of housing, particularly for groups of people such as students, transient workers, and those who need extra support in their daily lives.

Mandatory HMO licensing applies to houses occupied by three or more persons, from three or more families, as their only or main residence. All HMOs must meet physical standards set by the licensing local authority under Part 5 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. Mandatory licensing applies to houses or flats occupied by three or more unrelated people, who share bathroom or kitchen facilities. The owner of an HMO must have a licence from the local authority where the property is situated. Licensing helps ensure that accommodation is safe, well managed and of good quality. HMOs are also covered by fire safety legislation.

Before granting a licence, the local authority must be satisfied that:

the owner and any manager of the property is ‘fit and proper’ to hold a licence;
the property meets required physical standards; and
the property is suitable for use as an HMO (or could be made so by including conditions on the licence).

This dataset provides an overview of licenses by postcode, with additional Ward and Community Council information.

The local authority sets the standards required and also sets the fees charged for a licence application.

Resources

Additional Info

License	UK Open Government Licence v3.0
Category	Council and Government, Elections / Politics, Housing and Estates, Law and Licensing, Planning and Development, Public Safety, Sport and Leisure
Maintainer	Stirling Council
Date Created	2025-04-02
Date Updated	2025-04-02
Original dataset link	https://data-stirling-council.hub.arcgis.com/datasets/stirling-council::houses-of-multiple-occupancy-licensing-stirling-council-housing-open-data