Numbers of properties with an HMO licence in force at 31st of March. The mandatory licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation came into force on 1 October 2001. Information on the scheme can be found on the Scottish Government's [website](http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/07/19734/40899). More information on types of HMO licences in operation and on applications for licensing is also [available](http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/HMO). Unpublished data on licence fees and property sizes is also available on request.
HMO licences in force figures are subject to routine revisions. The figures may contain estimates where an authority is unable to return data. These are revised in the next scheduled publication following receipt of revised data.
Figures are sourced from management information systems therefore there no sampling error or confidence interval that would affect the accuracy of the results, although there may be a small amount of error associated with non-response and subsequent estimation. Licenses in force will exclude withdrawn applications and include applications refused and subsequently appealed. They also exclude licences which are currently in the process of being renewed. Statistics include estimates based upon previous data due to outstanding returns.
Number of House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Licences in force at 31 March.
The HMO data is collected as part of the Housing Statistics Annual Return form which is sent to all Local Authorities. The data collected asks local authorities to give the figures of Total HMO Licences in Force at March 31st of each year. Licenses in force will exclude withdrawn applications and include applications refused and subsequently appealed. They also exclude licences which are currently in the process of being renewed.
Information on council stock is collected at an aggregate level. Sensitive or confidential information relating to individual houses or people is not collected.
There are no alternative known comparable data sources for Scotland.
Data collected ib Number of HMO Licences in Force is sourced directly from the 32 Local Authorities in Scotland. There is no sampling involved in this data collection. In the event of non-response from a Local Authority, an estimate can be made either based on previous returns or on alternative information sources. Information provided by Local Authorities is extracted from Management Information Systems. We expect this information to be of good quality as it is used in the day to day housing management as well as for reporting purposes. We also expect the systems to have some built quality assurance. Information on the Number of HMO Licences in Force by Local Authorities is considered to be of good quality, as this information is crucial to the management of Number of HMO Licences in each local authority. Scottish Government statisticians carry out quality assurance of data provided from each Local Authority prior to publication. In particular figures are compared to those provided in previous years. Where there appears to be a discrepancy this is queried with the local authority and, if necessary, changes are made either to the latest year's data or to that for earlier years in order to ensure consistency.
Tables are published on the [Scottish Government Housing Statistics website](https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration) as soon as possible once data collection, data processing and preparation of tables and publication material is complete, generally in September each year. The open data platform will be updated as soon as possible after publication.
The annual HMO return was introduced in order to monitor the mandatory licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation that came into force on 1 October 2001.
Data file for Number of HMO Licences in Force