# HouseFile

> HouseFile keeps a UK landlord's certificates and tenancy documents in one place, reminds them before anything expires, and records when tenants open each document. It also publishes free records of council property licensing schemes in England: which councils run selective or additional HMO licensing, where, from when, at what fee, with each council's own source and the date the record was checked.

The licensing records are researched by hand from councils' own publications, and councils are watched for changes every month. A council with no page is one we don't hold an answer for yet, which never means it runs no scheme. The council has the final word on whether an address is covered. Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England whatever a council runs, where five or more people from two or more households share facilities.

## Licensing records

- [Landlord licensing by council](https://www.housefile.app/licensing): every council we hold, with what it runs today, what starts soon and what is proposed
- [Council pages](https://www.housefile.app/licensing/medway): one page per council at /licensing/{council}, for example Medway; each opens with the answer and shows the date each record was checked
- [Licensing checker](https://www.housefile.app/tools/licensing-checker): takes a postcode and says which schemes cover it
- [Licensing checker for AI assistants](https://www.housefile.app/mcp/about): an MCP server at https://www.housefile.app/mcp with four read-only tools (check_property_licensing, list_council_schemes, upcoming_licensing_changes, licensing_coverage); free, no account

## Other free tools

- [Landlord database checker](https://www.housefile.app/tools/prs-database-checker): when registering on England's private rented sector database becomes compulsory for a postcode, and the fee
- [Deposit cap calculator](https://www.housefile.app/tools/deposit-cap-calculator): the most a landlord can take as a tenancy deposit and a holding deposit

## About HouseFile

- [Pricing](https://www.housefile.app/pricing): plans for landlords; letting agents never pay
- [Blog](https://www.housefile.app/blog): guides on landlord law in England
- [Privacy policy](https://www.housefile.app/privacy)