New licensing schemes have recently started, or are about to start in Birmingham, Bristol, Leicester and Charnwood (Loughborough). Some of these schemes cover all rental property not just HMOs. If you're not licenced, you could face unlimited fines. Download our free guide to find out more.
Find out if you need a HMO licence for your property by downloading our free guide which covers local authorities in Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Derby. We also include a guide specifically about the Selective and Additional Licensing schemes starting in June 2023 in Birmingham.
Download our FREE HMO guide
Definitions
Licencing is a complex area, with lots of similar sounding names, and ever changing regulations.
HMO: A house in multiple occupation (HMO) is a property let to at least 3 people who are not from 1 ‘household’ (for example a family) but share facilities like the bathroom and kitchen. It’s sometimes called a ‘house share’.
Statutory HMO Licence: All HMOs with five or more occupants in England and Wales are required to have a HMO licence, regardless of the number of floors. This changed on 1st October 2018, prior to that date, only properties on two or more floors were included.
Additional Licencing: This is a form of discretionary licensing that covers HMOs that do not fall under the mandatory licensing scheme.
Selective Licencing: This requires most private landlords operating within a designated area to licence any privately rented property they manage within that area. It can apply to all rental property types whether they are HMOs or not.
Selective licencing requires approval from national Government and must be reviewed after the initial five year period.
N.B. Some councils include ALL HMOs, or ALL privately rented properties in these schemes, please check carefully.
What's the difference between additional and selective licencing?
The main difference between additional and selective HMO Licensing schemes is that additional licensing applies to all HMOs of a certain size, whereas Selective Licensing applies to certain areas and types of property. With Additional Licensing, all HMOs of a certain size must be licensed, while with Selective Licensing, only certain properties in certain designated areas must be licensed.
Do I have to have multiple licences for my property?
In short, no, you will only ever need a maximum of one licence for your property.
If your property is included in the statutory national HMO licencing scheme you will not be required to have an additional or selective licence. If you property requires a licence under an additional licencing scheme then it won’t require a selective licence.
Certificate of Lawful use
It’s an increasing requirement of local authorities to demand proof of lawful use (C4 or suis generis) for all properties within an Article 4 area as part of the HMO application process.
How can Purple Frog help?
Save time and avoid the hassle, let us do it for you. We’ve completed hundreds of applications, so know how to navigate the red tape to make sure you get your licence.
We can also complete Certificate of Lawful Use applications on your behalf, which are now being demanded by a number of local authorities to prove of lawful use (C4 or suis generis) for all properties within an Article 4 area as part of the HMO application process.
Our fees are (inc vat):
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| HMO (all types) applications, new | £345 |
| HMO (all types) application, renewal | £295 |
| Certificate of Lawful Use application | £595 |
| HMO and COLU together | £845 |
These fees are in addition to the licence fees from the local authority which are between £700-£1,300 for the HMO licence and approximately £250 for COLU applications.
We can split these fees over a period of months.
If you'd like our free guide, please complete the form below, or call 0121 227 4188 for further advice.