This page contains frequently asked questions about additional licensing for landlords.
A HMO (house in multiple occupancy) consists of three or more people living together as two or more households, usually sharing facilities such as kitchens and/or bathrooms. It could be a bedsit, shared house or a flat.
The following are households according to the Housing Act 2004.
Members of the same family living together including:
This means three unrelated friends sharing a home together are counted as three households. A couple sharing with a third unrelated person is two households. A family renting a property is a single household. If that family has an au-pair to look after their children, that person would be included in their household.
A resident landlord can have up to two lodgers living in the property with them and this would not require a licence. If you have three or more lodgers, then the property will require an HMO licence.
The number of people who can live in each HMO is determined by the number and size of rooms. There may be limits because of the size, number, and location of facilities such as bathrooms, toilets, and kitchens. For guidance read Private Sector Housing space and amenity standards. If we find that your property is not suitable for the current number of occupants, we will work with you to either make the property suitable for the number of occupants, or to reduce the number of occupants in a reasonable timescale. If the council decide that your property is not suitable for the number of occupants, you have the right to appeal this decision.
The Housing Act 2004 allows the local authority to extend mandatory HMO licensing to include other types of HMO if certain conditions are met, this is called additional licensing. The council has decided to use this discretionary power to licence all HMOs in the city from 1 September 2023.
The proposed additional licensing scheme in Portsmouth will require all HMO properties across the city to be licenced
There are a number of mandatory conditions applied to HMO licenses under the Housing Act 2004 and national regulations. The law also allows councils to apply discretionary conditions to regulate the management, use and occupation of the property. Details of proposed licence conditions can be found here: Additional Licensing of HMOs – Appendix 7 – Licensing conditions for HMOs
A 257 building is a property that has been converted into flats and the conversion does not comply with 1991 building regulations. Only those section 257 HMOs where two thirds or more of the flats are rented out, including those with resident landlords, will require a licence.
No. The council is not permitted to obtain financial gain from the fees paid through the licensing scheme. The fee would cover the costs to administer and successfully run the scheme.
Yes. You must have a separate licence for each HMO property that requires one.
Yes, this is a new scheme. If you are the owner or manager of an HMO in the city which meets the additional licensing criteria, you will need to apply for a licence.
Yes. You can continue to manage and operate your HMO in the same way as you normally would. You will need to apply for a licence within the required timescales and the council will process your application. If any issues are identified when processing your application the council will work with you to resolve this.
If a landlord does not apply for a licence when they are required to do so it would be an offence under section 72 of the Housing Act 2004, which upon summary conviction may render a person liable to an unlimited fine. A person may also be liable to a civil penalty under Section 249A of up to £30,000. Tenants living in what is found to be an unlicensed HMO can also look into applying for a rent repayment order. A rent repayment order requires a landlord or agent who has committed a relevant offence to repay rent, housing benefit or universal credit, this can result in the repayment of up to 12 months’ rent. Once the scheme is operational the council will be actively working to identify and enforce against non-complaint property owners.
Any flat within student halls that accommodates three or more students who share amenities (kitchens, bathrooms or living space) will require an additional licence.
Student halls directly managed by the University of Portsmouth will not require an additional licence.
The Private Sector Housing team will be providing information on the council’s website and on other platforms, however the onus is on the person responsible (usually the owner or manager) to apply for a licence if required. Updates will be sent out via our landlord newsletter – you can sign up for the newsletter here.
Information on how to apply for an additional licence can be found on our Apply for an HMO licence page
You can now make an application for an additional or section 257 licence. There will be a grace period of three months for applications and all supporting documents to be submitted. Any applications that remain incomplete or are received after 1 December 2023 could be subject to enforcement action in line with our enforcement policy.
Information about what is required for your application can be found on these pages:
This table shows indicative fees which would be charged. However, these would be subject to review before the start of the Additional Licensing scheme.
| Application type | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Total Fee |
| New Application – 5 year licence | £195.00 | £581.00 | £776.00 |
| New Application – 2.5 year licence | £195.00 | £608.00 | £803.00 |
| New Application – 1 year licence | £195.00 | £881.00 | £1,076.00 |
| Licence renewal – 2.5 years | £127.00 | £521.00 | £648.00 |
| Licence renewal – 1 year | £127.00 | £494.00 | £621.00 |
HMO licence fee payments will be made online. Details of payment methods will be included in the application process.
We are expecting to receive a high volume of licence applications over a short period of time. A large proportion of these may require an inspection before we issue the licence. We also have to follow a statutory process of issuing a draft licence before we can issue a full licence. Whilst we will make every effort to process applications and issue licenses as quickly as we can, we are expecting it could take up to a year for all licences to be issued.
The criteria for being granted an HMO licence can be found on these pages:
If an applicant does not meet the ‘fit and proper person’ criteria, then an appropriate alternative manager must be appointed, or the council can consider taking over the management of an HMO through a Management Order until an alternative person can be appointed to manage the property. You can appeal a decision that you are not a fit and proper person.
Full accreditation scheme info can be found on the accreditation scheme information page.
This PDF outlines the required space and amenity standards for HMOs in Portsmouth.
The document details the minimum standards expected for newly created HMOs, for increase of occupancy to existing HMOs, or where an application for planning permission is made in relation to the use or physical enlargement of a HMO.
All HMO owners are encouraged to meet these standards.
However, the document also outlines a level of digression from these standards that officers will apply when assessing the space and amenity for existing HMOs where no alterations to the size of the property or number of occupants are being made.
Whether the property has been licensed before or not is of no relevance to the space and amenity standards that will be expected.
If you have concerns that your property will not meet the space and amenity standards, you can:
Please note that regardless of which option you choose, if your property will be occupied as an HMO on 1 September 2023, then you must either apply for a licence, or apply for a temporary exemption if you are taking steps to reduce the number of tenants.
Once you have applied for a licence there are different types of inspections of your property that may be undertaken.
Licenses will be issued for one, two and a half years, and five years. For full details on what will be considered when deciding which licence to issue please see:
No, licences are not transferrable and in the event that the licence holder needs to be changed for any reason such as if the property is sold, then a new application would need to be submitted by the new owner.
There is a public register containing details of all licence holders and their properties. The details included on this are:
The public register is available to view on request
If you sell your property, you must inform the Private Sector Housing team and your licence will be revoked upon proof of sale of the property being received. As the licence is not transferable the new owner will need to apply for a licence and pay a fee if they wish to continue operating the property as an HMO.
Additional licensing’s main aim is to protect private rented tenants of HMOs from poorly managed and maintained properties, it will require landlords to adhere to a number of conditions as part of their licence. Officers will inspect the property during the licence period, and they will ensure than any hazards identified in the property are addressed by your landlord. This should provide you with reassurance that the property you are living in is in a safe condition and suitable to be occupied by the number of tenants living there.
One of the main aims of additional licensing is to protect private rented tenants of HMOs from poorly managed and maintained properties, this will give you reassurance that the HMO properties in your area are being maintained and managed correctly. We can also refuse to license a landlord who is not considered a “fit and proper” person to manage an HMO. If this is decided, then an appropriate alternative manager must be appointed, or the city council can consider taking over the management of an HMO through a Management Order until an alternative person can be appointed to manage the property.
The quality of life for tenants, and the impacts of those who live in HMOs on those around them, are issues that were explored in a recent city-wide survey. The survey strongly suggests that HMOs impact upon residents in a number of ways, such as increased parking issues, waste management, noise and anti-social behaviour. These issues can be complex, although various council services work together to react to, and resolve, them where possible. However additional licensing will not directly address these issues. Licensing also cannot control the number or location of HMOs in the city, or stop an HMO from operating.
