HMO licensing in Aberdeen

Which licences a rented house needs in Aberdeen, and where. Scotland. Checked 7 September 2026.

Mandatory HMO licensing only in Aberdeen.

Every HMO needs a licence: 3 or more unrelated people sharing. There is no mandatory/additional split.

Scotland: all HMOs of 3+ unrelated persons need a licence; council pages could not be read (two 404s and one page returning no body content)

Planning policy on HMOs

Council page (search snippet only): overprovision of HMOs in the locality is a ground for refusing an HMO licence, and Aberdeen planning guidance identifies areas of excessive HMO concentration where permission for further HMOs is unlikely to be granted. Threshold not verified.

Council HMO page · Council Article 4 page

Check an exact postcode for Article 4

Is a postcode inside an HMO Article 4 area?

See this on every listing.Kerbio puts the Article 4 answer, licensing, the council's HMO register and sold prices on the Rightmove, Zoopla or OnTheMarket page itself. Free for 7 days, then £39 a month.

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Sources: Aberdeen council, gov.uk HMO licensing. Schemes change; confirm with the council before you offer.