About
Built for residents, not investors.
Every tool that touches HMO data in the UK was built for people who want to buy, build or manage HMOs. We built HMOWatch for everyone else.
Why we exist
HMO licence registers are public. They're published by 361 local councils under the Open Government Licence. But they're scattered across 361 different websites in 361 different formats, many of them PDFs or broken tables.
A resident standing on their street cannot realistically answer the question: “Is that house an HMO?” A buyer completing in two weeks cannot find out whether the property next door is a licensed shared house. A community group campaigning for Article 4 cannot easily show what their street looks like.
HMOWatch joins up those registers. We standardise the data, keep it current, and present it in a way that's useful to ordinary people.
Data principles
We show our working.
Every record carries its source council and refresh date. You can see exactly where the data came from and how old it is.
We are honest about gaps.
Some councils update their registers rarely. We show you the date rather than pretending the data is live when it isn't.
We do not speculate.
We only show what official registers state. We do not infer, estimate or guess.
We do not harm individuals.
We never publish landlord names, home addresses or allegations against individual properties.
Data sources
Council HMO registers
Published by local authorities under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Collected and standardised by HMOWatch.
Planning applications
From council planning portals. Applications for change of use to HMO (C4 use class) and associated prior approval notices.
Article 4 directions
From council Local Development Frameworks and planning policy documents. Verified against council websites.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Press and media
For press enquiries, data requests or research collaborations, email us directly.
press@hmowatch.co.ukContact
Questions about the data, corrections, or takedown requests — use this form or email us at hello@hmowatch.co.uk.
Takedown and corrections
If you believe data about a specific property is incorrect, use the form and select “Correction request”.
Data protection
Read our DPIA