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

The fee, from Milton Keynes’s own page

'The licence fee for new applications and renewals is £730 and is charged in two parts: The Part 1 fee is £485 and is payable at the time of application. This fee covers the reasonable costs incurred by the council [in] processing the application... The Part 2 fee is £245 and is payable on approval of the application. This fee covers the costs of statutory inspections and enforcement of the scheme.' 'The new licence will last for a further five years.'

Flat fee, same for new and renewal, no fee-year label found on page.

Milton Keynes’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 Milton Keynes

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): not confirmed either way on the pages we read — check the council’s licensing pages before letting to fewer than five.

Selective licensing (all private lets in an area): not confirmed either way on the pages we read — check the council’s licensing pages before letting to fewer than five.

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 Milton Keynes numbers around an HMO

• How many HMOs: the council estimated 847 HMOs in Milton Keynes, of which 512 were mandatory-licensable and 512 licences had been issued (LAHS 2024-25, MHCLG) — every council’s figures.
• Rents: the average 4+-bedroom rent in Milton Keynes is £2,087 a month (ONS, July 2026) against £1,343 across all sizes — rents, prices and yield in Milton Keynes.
• EPC: 27% 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 Milton Keynes).
• Council tax: Band D is £2,372 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 Milton Keynes splits its fee, if it does).

Apply or check on Milton Keynes’s site

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