Houses in multiple occupation and licensing

A property is an HMO if both of the following apply:

at least 3 tenants live there, forming more than one household
toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities are shared

A household consists of either a single person or members of the same family who live together. It includes people who are married or living together and people in same-sex relationships.

Licences

An HMO must have a licence if it is occupied by 5 or more people.

The council does not currently operating any additional or selective HMO licensing schemes.

HMOs occupied by more than 6 people also require planning permission.

Licence applications and fees

HMO licence application fees are set out in the table below. Licence applications include a property inspection.

Bedrooms	Part one fee (application fee)	Part two fee (issue fee)	Total fee
up to 5	£620	£414	£1,034
6	£644	£429	£1,073
7	£667	£445	£1,112
8	£691	£460	£1,151
9	£714	£476	£1,190
10	£737	£492	£1,229

All fees are set locally by the council, reviewed annually and cover the five year licence period.

Additional HMO advice visits are charged at £196.

You can apply for a HMO licence here and download a copy of the application form here.

You will also need to download and complete an HMO licence application declaration here.

Read the application guidance notes here.

Download the list of documents that you will need to provide with your application for a HMO licence here.

Minimum standards for HMOs

Download details of the minimum standards required for all HMOs here.

Penalties for failing to licence a HMO

It is an offence to operate a licensable HMO without a licence. You could be fined or prosecuted for renting out an unlicensed HMO.

In addition, any Housing Benefit or Universal Credit paid to the landlord of an unlicensed HMO may be repayable to the council. Tenants can also apply for a Rent Repayment Order if they have paid rent to a landlord who has failed to obtain an HMO licence.

The council can apply to manage a HMO that is not licensed. This means the council could take over management responsibilities from the landlord in respect to the property, including collection of rent and carrying out repairs etc.

Register of HMO licences

The council is required to maintain a register of all properties in the district where:

an HMO licence is currently in force
a Temporary Exemption Notice (TEN) is currently in force
an Interim Management Order (IMO) is currently in force
a Final Management Order (FMO) is currently in force

The council publishes a simplified version of the HMO register which is available to download. The register may not include applications that are currently being processed. Contact us if you believe a property is an HMO but is not listed in the register.

The council does not publish the full HMO register online as releasing personal information to a large number of people may be considered a breach of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The council maintains a full register of HMO licences which includes names and addresses of licence holders which is available in printed format on request. The council does not condone the use of direct marketing undertaken by third parties accessing this information. By doing so, third parties may be in breach of data protection regulations by not gaining consent from the individuals concerned.

View the HMO licence register here.

For more information about HMO licensing and details of minimum standards required for HMOs please contact the Private Sector Housing Team.