HouseFile UK property licensing checker

app.housefilePublished by housefile.appOfficial publisherv1.1.0Updated Oct 24, 2026

Checks whether a property in England is in a council's selective or HMO licensing scheme

VerifiedStreamable HTTPWeb executableLocation & LifestyleBusiness & Commerce

Overview

AI-generated overview

A remote MCP server that lets an assistant check HouseFile's records of council property licensing schemes in England by postcode or council.

What you can do
Look up a postcode to see which council licensing schemes are in force there, with dates, fees, source links and last-verified dates, plus the national HMO rule and upcoming schemes. List a council's schemes by name, partial name or GSS code, covering in-force, starting soon, proposed and recently ended schemes. Review upcoming licensing changes and recent scheme changes, optionally for one council and over a chosen number of months. Check which councils the records cover and which were checked and found to run no schemes.
When to use it
Useful when someone asks whether a property in England needs a selective or HMO licence, what a council's licensing schemes cost or when they start, or whether a given area is covered by HouseFile's records.
Requirements
A remote streamable HTTP endpoint at the provider's site; no package, account, API key or header is declared. Network access to the provider is needed.
Before you install
Results are general information, not legal advice, and the server tells assistants never to state that a licence is not needed. A council missing from the records does not mean it has no scheme. Results may sit near a scheme boundary, and mandatory HMO licensing depends on occupancy, so users should confirm with the council before letting.

Installation

In SourceWeft

  1. Open HouseFile UK property licensing checker in the dashboard and add it to a workspace.
  2. Enable the server for the chats that should use its tools.

Web executable via Streamable HTTP. Remote servers run from the web runtime once configured in a workspace.

Use with an agent

Paste this prompt into Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or another agent — or into SourceWeft chat. The agent reads this server's install guide, shows you its publisher, endpoint and sign-in, and adds it to your client once you agree. Keys never go into a command.

Read https://sourceweft.com/mcp/app.housefile%2Flicensing/install.md and connect the MCP server it describes to my client. Before changing any config, show me its publisher, endpoint and sign-in method and wait for my OK. Never put an API key in a command or in a file I would commit; ask me where it should come from.

Read the install guide the agent follows

Other MCP clients

Add this to your client's mcpServers config.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "housefile-uk-property-licensing-checker": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://www.housefile.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Tools

4

check_property_licensing

Check a property’s licensing

Looks up a postcode in England in HouseFile’s records of council licensing schemes and returns each scheme in force there, with its dates, fee, source link and the date the records were last verified, plus the national HMO rule. Schemes not in force yet are listed under upcoming. It works to postcode precision, so near a scheme’s edge it says so. Give occupants and households to settle the mandatory HMO test in England.

Parameterspostcoderequiredoccupantsas_of_datehouseholdsaddress_line

list_council_schemes

List a council’s licensing schemes

Lists a council’s licensing schemes from HouseFile’s records: in force, starting soon, proposed, and ended in the last 12 months, each with its area, dates, fee, source link and last verified date. Takes a council name, part of a name or a GSS code. If several councils match, it returns them to choose from.

Parameterscouncilrequired

upcoming_licensing_changes

Upcoming licensing changes

What’s coming: schemes proposed or starting soon, and recent changes to schemes in HouseFile’s records (started, ended, fee, dates or area changed), newest first. Optionally for one council, and for a number of months ahead and back (6 by default, at most 24). For all councils the lists stop at the 15 soonest schemes and the 10 latest changes, with the totals; ask for one council to see all of its own.

Parameterscouncilwithin_months

licensing_coverage

Which councils are covered

Which councils HouseFile’s records cover: each council with published schemes, with how many, how many are in force and when they were last verified, and the councils checked and found to run none. Use it to tell the user honestly whether their area is covered, and list_council_schemes for one council’s detail.

Takes no parameters.

Version history

2
  1. v1.1.0LatestOct 24, 2026
  2. v1.0.0Oct 17, 2026

Score

83% of the applicable checks met

How complete this listing is, computed from the registry entry, the endpoint and public sources. Not a rating of the server and not a statement that it is safe or working today: reachability is a dated check, and no installs or reviews go into the score.

  • Reached in the last 30 daysRequired25 pts
  • Auth declaredRequired10 pts
  • Tools listedRequired15 pts
  • DescriptionRequired15 pts
  • Logo10 pts
  • Documentation15 pts

    Declare a GitHub repository with a README, or serve resource_documentation in the OAuth protected-resource metadata.

  • LicenseNot applicable

    A hosted service is used under its provider's terms, so no license is expected here. This check is left out of the percentage.