How much does an HMO licence cost? Council fees, and how they're set
There is no national price: each council in England sets its own licence fee. On the councils' own pages we read on 3 November 2026, a selective licence cost £350 to £1,100. An HMO licence starts from £685.50 for the smallest HMOs and rises with the size of the house: the largest band we read was £6,350, in Newham for 70 to 79 lettings, and many councils add a charge for each extra room or person.
Each council sets its own fee
The council may require your application for an HMO licence to come with a fee it fixes itself. In setting it, the council may take into account all its costs of running HMO licensing, so fees differ from one council to the next.
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Selective licences work the same way
A selective licence is the same: the council may require the application to come with a fee it fixes.
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What a fee can cover
A council's charges must be reasonable and proportionate to its costs, and must not exceed them. The part of the fee for deciding your application can only cover the cost of deciding it.
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Part A and Part B
So many councils take the fee in two parts. Newham's page puts it plainly: Part A is taken when you apply, for processing and deciding the application, and Part B once the council has decided to grant the licence, for running and enforcing the scheme.
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Fees on councils' own pages
The fees each council prints, read on its own pages on 3 November 2026, each with the council's own condition: its smallest band, its largest where it charges more for bigger houses, and any charge per room or person on top. Where a council charges accredited landlords less, the figure is the standard one. A council's page may list other fees too, such as for renewals or for a block of flats converted into an HMO. Each council's page on Datestone gives its fees with a link to the page we read.
| Council | Licence | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Ashfield | Selective | £350 |
| Ashfield | Mandatory HMO, up to 6 people | £1,031.10, plus £91.35 for each additional person |
| Birmingham | Selective | £700 |
| Birmingham | Additional HMO | £755 |
| Blackpool | Selective, a home with one household | £772, plus £95 for each additional unit |
| Blackpool | Mandatory HMO, a first application | £1,176 |
| Brent | Selective | £640 |
| Brent | Additional HMO | £1,040 |
| Brent | Mandatory HMO | £1,040, plus £25 for each habitable room over the first five |
| Bristol | Selective, Bishopston and Ashley Down, Cotham, and Easton | £912 |
| Bristol | Selective, Bedminster and Brislington West | £799 |
| Bristol | Additional HMO, citywide, a first licence | £1,861 |
| Bristol | Additional HMO, Bedminster, Brislington West and Horfield | £1,300 |
| Broxtowe | Mandatory HMO | £830 |
| Bury | Mandatory HMO, up to 5 people or lettings | £685.50, plus £29 for each letting above 5 |
| Canterbury | Mandatory HMO, up to five people | £1,498.97, plus £86.64 for each additional person |
| Cotswold | Mandatory HMO, a new licence | £1,360, plus £41.50 a room for 7 rooms or more |
| Croydon | Selective | £800 |
| Croydon | Additional HMO | £1,250 |
| Ealing | Selective | £750 |
| Ealing | Additional HMO, 3 or 4 people | £1,300 |
| Ealing | Mandatory HMO, up to 5 bedrooms | £1,500, rising to £2,000 for 20 or more bedrooms |
| Gedling | Selective, for a landlord who isn't accredited | £840 |
| Haringey | Additional HMO, up to 5 units | £1,360, plus £50 for each unit above 5, added to Part A and to Part B |
| Leeds | Selective, applied for online | £1,100 |
| Liverpool | Selective | £704 |
| Newham | Selective | £750 |
| Newham | Additional HMO | £1,250 |
| Newham | Mandatory HMO, up to 5 lettings | £1,400, rising to £6,350 for 70 to 79 lettings, and £750 more for each further 10 lettings from 80 |
| Nottingham | Selective, for a landlord who isn't accredited | £950 |
| Nottingham | Additional HMO, for a landlord who isn't accredited, up to 9 bedrooms | £1,607, plus £29 a bedroom for an HMO of 10 bedrooms or more |
| Nottingham | Mandatory HMO, for a landlord who isn't accredited, up to 9 bedrooms | £1,607, plus £29 a bedroom for an HMO of 10 bedrooms or more |
| Salford | Selective, Broughton | £609 |
| Salford | Selective, Eccles, Winton Barton | £609 |
| Salford | Mandatory HMO, up to 12 beds, a first application | £970, plus £40 for each bedroom where the home has 13 or more |
| Torridge | Mandatory HMO, 2026/27, plus a DBS check fee | £787 |
| Tower Hamlets | Selective, applied for online | £897 |
| Tower Hamlets | Additional HMO, applied for online | £1,323 |
| Tower Hamlets | Mandatory HMO, applied for online | £977, plus £68.50 for each habitable room |
| Waltham Forest | Selective | £895 |
| Waltham Forest | Additional HMO | £1,200 |
| Waltham Forest | Mandatory HMO, up to 8 units | £1,650, rising to £5,500 for 20 units or more |
What Datestone does for you
Each council's licensing page on Datestone says what we've confirmed from the council's own pages, with the day we confirmed it, and, where we've read them, the council's licence fees with a link to its fee page. Keep the home on Datestone and its checklist carries the licences that apply, each with its renewal date once you've entered it, so the next fee never comes as a surprise.