There are two licence types. Mandatory licensing which is statutory for certain houses in multiple occupation and selective licensing which is a discretionary licensing scheme we apply to all privately rented properties within a certain area.
Apply for a licence
Your application must include:
- the licence fee payment
- a copy of your gas safety certificate if you have a gas supply to your property
- a copy of your electrical condition report
- a copy of your annual fire detection test certificate
- a copy of your annual fire risk assessment
- a copy of the floor plan of the property
You will also need to make sure you have met the licensing conditions for room sizes, kitchens and bathrooms and fire safety standards.
Apply for a licence
Licence types
Mandatory licensing
Mandatory licences apply to all houses in multiple occupation that are:
- A building in which two or more families or individuals share basic amenities.
- A converted building which contains one or more units of accommodation that are not self-contained. A self-contained unit is one which has inside it a kitchen (or cooking area), bathroom or toilet for the exclusive use of the household living in the unit. The unit is not self-contained if the occupiers need to leave the unit to access any of these amenities. (For example, the toilet, bathroom or any bedroom is located on a landing outside the main unit front entrance door)
- Buildings with five or more people living there and the five or more people make up more than one households (family units)
Purpose built blocks of flats of three or more self-contained flats are exempt if they meet these requirements:
- the flat is within a purpose built building
- the flat is within a block of flats
- there are more than three flats in the purpose built block
Any other flat with five or more people requires a mandatory licence.
Licensing conditions
For up to date space and amenity standards or new licensing conditions, please contact us.
Re-licensing a house in multiple occupation
A house in multiple occupation licence lasts for five years. If your property is still operating as a house in multiple occupation at the end of the five year period, then you will need to apply to have your property re-licensed.
Licence fees
- five persons – £980
- six persons - £1085
- seven to 10 persons - £1185
- each additional person above 10 - £30
Fire safety legislation
Application refusal
We can refuse a licence application if we decide you are not a fit and proper person or if the property does not meet the licensing conditions. The application may also be refused if there is no reasonable prospect of an alternative licence holder being appointed, or of the property being brought up to the required standards within an acceptable time period.
Appeals
If your application is refused or you wish to appeal any conditions attached to a licence, any decision to vary or revoke a licence you can appeal to a residential property tribunal within 28 days of a decision being made.
If you would like to appeal against a licence that has be granted you can do so to a residential property tribunal within 28 days of a decision being made.
You can find out how to appeal on the Government’s website about solving residential property disputes.
Temporary exemption notice
If you intend to stop the property operating as a house in multiple occupation, or reduce the number of occupants, and you can give clear evidence of this, then you can apply for a temporary exemption notice.
Failing to comply
It is an offence if the landlord or person in control of the property fails to apply for a licence for a licensable property, or allows a property to be occupied by more people than is permitted under the licence.
A fine of up to £20,000 may be imposed. In addition, breaking any of the licence conditions can result in fines of up to £5,000 for each offence.