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

The fee, from Wolverhampton’s own page

'Fee 1 - Application processing and determination fee: Covers costs relating to the processing of an application for an HMO up to 6 bedrooms, up to and including the decision to grant or decline. £977. Add on costs Fee 1: 7 to 10 bedroom £34, 11 to 20 bedroom £96, 21 to 30 bedroom £158, 31 to 40 bedroom £220, 41 to 50 bedroom £281, for each incremental 10 bedrooms (up to 60,70,80,90 rooms) £62. For each disused room in the HMO building not forming part of HMO but within the building £7. Commercial areas within HMO building £28. Fee 2 - Licence scheme operation and enforcement fee: covers all costs after granting of the licence... £570.' 'Fee 1 - Application processing and determination fee is charged at the time of application... Fee 2 - Licence scheme operation and enforcement fee is charged at the point of granting the licence... There are no HMO licence fee discounts available.' Also: copy of public register £82; request for missing/incomplete application info £82; late application after expiry £165.

fee_new_gbp = £977 + £570 = £1,547 for up to 6 bedrooms (Fee 1 + Fee 2). No separate renewal figure or licence-duration statement found on this page; 'Fees are reviewed annually and may be subject to increase' with no explicit fee-year label.

Wolverhampton’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 Wolverhampton

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. Not fully specified on this page ('Non-Licensable HMO's' section referenced but not extracted). Same fee schedule (Fee 1 + Fee 2) appears to be used generally; not disambiguated between mandatory and additional in this pass. Check the scheme map before letting to three or four sharers.

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 Wolverhampton numbers around an HMO

• How many HMOs: the council estimated 3,946 HMOs in Wolverhampton, of which 651 were mandatory-licensable and 215 licences had been issued (LAHS 2024-25, MHCLG) — every council’s figures.
• Rents: the average 4+-bedroom rent in Wolverhampton is £1,437 a month (ONS, July 2026) against £942 across all sizes — rents, prices and yield in Wolverhampton.
• EPC: 47% 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 Wolverhampton).
• Council tax: Band D is £2,539 for 2026/27; in an HMO let room by room the landlord is usually the liable person (council tax in Wolverhampton).

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 Wolverhampton splits its fee, if it does).

Apply or check on Wolverhampton’s site

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