The legal definition of what counts as a licensable HMO has not changed. Any house that is three or more storeys in height and occupied by five or more persons living as more than one household who pay rent and is either not completely self contained or at least one basic amenity is shared, must be licensed.
Further details can be found in the
licensing guide available on the Council’s website.
The licence will automatically cease to have effect and will be removed from the public register of HMO licences.
If you intend to continue letting the property as a licensable HMO when the current licence expires, then you will have to apply for a new licence.
You should ideally apply for a new licence at least two months before the current licence expires. This should then allow enough time to enable a new licence to be processed and approved so that it will come in to operation from the date of the expiry of the current licence onwards.
This is why we are writing to all existing licence holders prior to the expiry date of their current licence asking them to confirm whether they are still responsible for the property and whether they intend to continue operating the property in question as a licensable HMO.
Once you have confirmed that you are still responsible for the property and intend to continue letting it as a licensable HMO, we will write to you again with more exact timescales and inviting you to make a new licence application.
You can apply for a licence 2 months before expiry, this will ensure your licence is processed in good time. We cannot issue a new licence until the previous licence has expired so would request that you do not make applications more than 2 months in advance.
Although we already hold information about your property from your first licence application, we need to know about any changes in circumstances that may have occurred over the past five years or so. You will also need to provide updated information about your status as a fit and proper person to act as the licence holder.
Since licensing was introduced in 2006, we have developed a new application form that you should find more straightforward to fill in. You can also apply online using the
EU Services Directive form.Yes - local housing authorities are able to recover the full costs incurred in administering the licence scheme and therefore a further licence fee will be charged.
The processing of a new licence application is very similar to that involved with an initial application. All of the stages required by the legislation under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004 must still be followed and a detailed assessment of your application must be carried out before a new licence can be granted.
The fee structure ensures that landlords who apply for a new licence, or a renewal of their licence, promptly will pay less than those who fail to apply or create additional work for the Council in chasing the application.
In most cases the new licence will last for a further five years.
Licences may however be granted for shorter periods where there are any concerns over the management arrangements or where there have been avoidable delays in making an effective licence application.
No. However if the property has undergone significant changes, it may be advisable to submit an up to date plan so the Council can ensure the property is still licensable.
Yes. Any safety certificate that is out of date must be renewed before a new licence can be granted.
This applies to:
• Gas safety certificates (if the property has a gas supply) (required annually)
• Inspection certificates for the electrical installation (required within 5 yearly intervals)
• Test certificates for the fire alarm system (required at least annually).
• Test certificates for the emergency lighting system (if fitted required at least annually)
• Portable electrical appliance test certificate (PAT Test) if electrical equipment is supplied as part of the tenancy.
You will also need to provide an updated declaration that any upholstered furniture you provide as part of the tenancy is fully compliant with fire safety regulations.
If you apply for a licence via the standard route, your property would normally be inspected as part of the licence application process. The inspection and relicensing process is likely to focus more on the management of the property.
If you apply via the basic route with an approved surveyors property condition report, the Council will not normally carry out an inspection as part of the relicensing process. Visits are carried out on a small number of properties applying through this route to verify surveyors performance.
An inspection may however be carried out at any time during the period of a licence in connection with any enquiries received from the occupiers or neighbours or to check compliance with licence conditions or management arrangements.
The conditions specified in your current licence concerning the proper management of the property will in most cases be broadly similar in any new licence that may be granted. Each case will however be assessed on its own merits. Any particular works or actions specified as conditions of your existing licence should have been completed by the time the new licence is granted and therefore in most cases it should not be necessary to include these conditions again.
If all of the conditions have not been complied with then this is an offence for which you could be fined up to a maximum of £5000 per breach of licence condition.
For example it may have been specified that additional amenities should have been installed to make the house suitable for occupation by a certain number of persons. If this work has not been completed then evidence could be gathered with a view to instigating legal proceedings.
You are therefore urged to look through the schedule of licence conditions of your existing licence to ensure that any works required are completed.
If the property is occupied by more than the number allowed by the licence, this is also an offence. If you have developed the property to make it suitable for more than the number originally specified in the licence, you should contact us immediately to advise of work that has been done as the original licence could be varied to allow more occupants if we agree it is suitable for that number.
The penalties for operating a licensable HMO without a licence once the current licence expires are the same as those for failing to obtain a licence in the first instance. These include:-
• Failure to obtain a licence – a fine of up to £20,000
• Permitting an excessive number of occupants – a fine of up to £20,000
• Rent repayment orders
• Interim Management Orders
• You would not be able to issue notice to quit for existing short hold assured tenancies.
Yes – we would encourage you to sign the authorisation on the new application form allowing the service of documents electronically. This will speed up the licensing process. To ensure that we have your correct email address we will require you to respond to a test email prior to issuing any documentation.
Yes – we are required by law to have a period between issuing the notification of intention to issue (or refuse) a licence to allow all interested parties to comment on the proposed licence. We will not be able to issue a licence until the end of this period, even if you agree with our decision and have no comments to make.
Southampton City Council
