HMO Licence in Brighton & Hove: Fee, Who Needs One and How to Apply

The fee, from Brighton & Hove’s own page

Single-tenancy HMO (5+ occupants, one tenancy): 'Type of fee | 5 occupants | 6 to 8 | 9 to 11 | 12 to 14. Standard initial fee £906 £927 £950 £972. Single discount £831 £852 £875 £897. Double discount £756 £777 £800 £822. Late fee £1,027 £1,050 £1,071 £1,094. Standard re-license fee £740 £750 £763 £773. Single discount £665 £675 £688 £698. Double discount £590 £600 £613 £623. Late re-license fee £840 £850 £862 £883.' Multi-tenancy/bedsit HMO (5+ tenancies): Standard initial fee £1,137 (5 tenancies) rising to £1,623 (12-14); Standard re-license fee £927-£983. 'If there are more than 14 occupants: for new applications, add £22 for up to 3 additional occupants (single-tenancy) / £29 (multi-tenancy); for re-licensing, add £12 / £16.'

One open flag: a third-party headline suggests Brighton & Hove's additional HMO licensing scheme may have ended even though the fee page still lists additional-licence fees -- worth a follow-up check on the scheme's live/expired status before publishing on the site.

Brighton & Hove’s new-licence fee sits below the median of the 34 councils whose fee we could read from their own pages (£1,364). The cheapest verified is Islington at £288 and the dearest Lambeth at £2,530; fee structures differ — some charge per room or in occupancy bands, so a large HMO can cost far more than the headline figure above.

Who needs a licence in Brighton & Hove

The national rule is the same everywhere in England and Wales — gov.uk: “You must have a licence if you’re renting out a large HMO in England or Wales. Your property is defined as a large HMO if all of the following apply: it is rented to 5 or more people who form more than 1 household; some or all tenants share toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities; at least 1 tenant pays rent (or their employer pays it for them).” … “A licence is valid for a maximum of 5 years. You must renew your licence before it runs out. You need a separate licence for each HMO you run.” Whether a smaller shared house needs a licence depends on whether the council runs an additional or selective scheme:

Additional licensing (smaller HMOs): none in force according to the council pages we read — The council's own fee page still lists 'Additional HMO Licence fees' (3-4 unrelated occupants single tenancy: standard £883; 3-4 tenancies: standard £1,127), BUT a third-party article title found in search is 'The end of Brighton & Hove's additional HMO licensing', suggesting the scheme may have ended or be ending -- this needs to be reconciled/checked before publishing; recorded 'exists: false' tentatively is NOT confirmed either way, flag for a human check..

Selective licensing (all private lets in an area): yes. City-wide, all privately rented properties. Scheme dates: from 2024-09-02 to 2029-09-01. Fee £690. fees advised by the council are £690, and for any late application made after 30th September, an increased fee of £783 will apply. Discounts of £75 are available if the property energy performance rating is C or above.' Inside a selective area every private tenancy needs a licence, HMO or not.

Letting a licensable HMO without a licence is an offence; the penalties, rent repayment orders and the fee’s tax treatment are on the HMO licence in England guide.

The Brighton & Hove numbers around an HMO

• How many HMOs: the council estimated 4,500 HMOs in Brighton & Hove, of which 2,065 were mandatory-licensable and 1,891 licences had been issued (LAHS 2024-25, MHCLG) — every council’s figures.
• Rents: the average 4+-bedroom rent in Brighton & Hove is £2,480 a month (ONS, July 2026) against £1,809 across all sizes — rents, prices and yield in Brighton and Hove.
• EPC: 40% of EPCs lodged here in the last year were below band C, the level a rented home needs by 1 October 2030 (EPC ratings in Brighton and Hove).
• Council tax: Band D is £2,581 for 2026/27; in an HMO let room by room the landlord is usually the liable person.

How to apply

Applications go to the council, not to a national body. Have the floor plans, gas and electrical certificates, fire-safety details and the manager’s details ready; most councils take a non-refundable first payment on submission and the balance on grant (the quote above shows where Brighton & Hove splits its fee, if it does).

Apply or check on Brighton & Hove’s site

All councils compared · Student HMOs and Ground 4A · Renters’ Rights Act rules