HMO Licence in Luton: Fee, Who Needs One and How to Apply

The fee, from Luton’s own page

'Licences will generally be issued for a maximum five year period. Number of bedrooms | Part A fee (non-refundable) | Part B fee | Total: 3 £705.55 £436.72 £1,142.27; 4 £818.85 £529.42 £1,348.27; 5 £932.15 £622.12 £1,554.27; 6 £1,086.65 £714.82 £1,801.47; 7 £1,251.45 £807.52 £2,058.97; 8 £1,426.55 £900.22 £2,326.77; 9 £1,611.95 £992.92 £2,604.87; 10 £1,807.65 £1,085.62 £2,893.27; 11 £2,013.65 ...' (table continues beyond 11 bedrooms, not fully captured). Same table appears to serve both new applications and renewals per page structure.

Fee is per-bedroom starting at 3 bedrooms, no flat baseline; used the 5-bedroom row (£1,554.27) as the mandatory-threshold baseline per the task's national 5+ occupant criterion.

Luton’s new-licence fee sits above 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 Luton

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): yes. See luton.gov.uk additional-licensing page. Check the scheme map before letting to three or four sharers.

Selective licensing (all private lets in an area): yes. See luton.gov.uk selective-licensing page. 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 Luton numbers around an HMO

• How many HMOs: the council estimated 4,576 HMOs in Luton, of which 705 were mandatory-licensable and 233 licences had been issued (LAHS 2024-25, MHCLG) — every council’s figures.
• Rents: the average 4+-bedroom rent in Luton is £1,814 a month (ONS, July 2026) against £1,221 across all sizes — rents, prices and yield in Luton.
• EPC: 42% 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 Luton).
• Council tax: Band D is £2,440 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 Luton splits its fee, if it does).

Apply or check on Luton’s site

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