Property Licence

Southampton licensing / HMO licensing

HMO licensing in Southampton

Mandatory HMO (national)
Additional HMO active in Southampton

HMO licensing in Southampton comes from two places. National law sets the mandatory HMO rule for larger shared homes. The council can add its own additional HMO scheme on top, which catches smaller shared homes in part or all of its area.

What counts as an HMO

An HMO is a house in multiple occupation. The legal test under section 254 of the Housing Act 2004 is that at least three tenants live in the property, they form more than one household, and they share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen.

A household is one person, a couple, or a family living together. Three friends sharing a flat are three households. A couple plus their two children are one household. The household count is what triggers the HMO definition, not just the headcount.

A self-contained flat where everyone shares a single tenancy and uses one kitchen and bathroom inside the flat is not an HMO. A house split into self-contained flats can still be an HMO at the building level if a single tenancy covers the whole property.

Check a property in Southampton

Use the postcode and address checker to confirm the council and the local scheme area. Use the quick test below to see whether the property setup meets the mandatory HMO rule.

Check if you need an HMO licence

A postcode cannot tell us how many people live in the property. Answer these four questions and we will say whether the mandatory HMO rule is likely to apply.

Mandatory HMO licensing in Southampton

Mandatory HMO licensing is national law. Every council in England runs it, including Southampton. A property needs a mandatory HMO licence when five or more people from two or more households live in it and share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen.

The rule sits in the Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018. There is no postcode test. If the property meets the headcount and household test anywhere in England, it needs a licence from the local council.

The licence has to be in place before the tenancy starts. Renting out an unlicensed mandatory HMO is a criminal offence. Councils can prosecute or apply a civil penalty of up to £40,000 per offence, and tenants can apply for a rent repayment order of up to 12 months of rent already paid.

Southampton mandatory HMO licensing

Mandatory HMO licensing · national · National rule

Occupant threshold
5 or more
Household threshold
2 or more
Fee in Southampton
£953

Mandatory HMO licensing applies nationally to HMOs occupied by five or more people in two or more households.

Standard timely-and-compliant HMO licence fee is £953, paid in two stages: £300 application fee and £653 licence issue fee. A late application is £1,618 and an approved independent surveyor route is £636.

Apply for a mandatory HMO licence

Additional HMO licensing in Southampton

Additional HMO licensing is a discretionary scheme. A council uses it to catch smaller shared homes that fall below the mandatory threshold. The rules sit in Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004 and the scheme has to be formally designated by the council.

Southampton runs an active additional HMO licensing scheme. The detail below is taken from the council's own designation notice.

Southampton additional HMO licensing 2025 to 2030

Additional HMO licensing · active · Listed wards

Coverage
Listed wards
Runs
1 Oct 2025 to 30 Sept 2030
Term
5 years
Occupant threshold
3 or more
Household threshold
2 or more
Fee per property
£953

Southampton additional HMO licensing applies in Banister and Polygon, Bargate, Bassett, Bevois, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Shirley and Swaythling wards to smaller HMOs and HMOs within purpose-built accommodation blocks.

Standard timely-and-compliant HMO licence fee is £953, paid in two stages: £300 application fee and £653 licence issue fee. A late application is £1,618 and an approved independent surveyor route is £636.

Properties exempt from this scheme

  • Section 257 HMOs, described by Southampton as converted blocks of flats completed before 1 June 1992 and dealt with by regulation 20 of the Building Regulations 1991.
  • Buildings controlled or managed by a local housing authority, non-profit registered provider of social housing, registered social landlord, Police and Crime Commissioner, Mayor's office for policing and crime, fire and rescue authority, health service body, co-operative society, educational establishment or religious community.

Discounts the council offers

  • Landlords with timely and compliant applications can use an approved independent HMO surveyor rate: £300 stage one and £336 stage two, total £636.
  • Buildings owned and managed by large student accommodation providers that comply with the ANUK National Code or another approved code or scheme receive a 50% fee reduction.

Wards covered

Banister & Polygon, Bargate, Bassett, Bevois, Freemantle, Millbrook, Portswood, Shirley, Swaythling.

Apply for this licence on the council site

Common HMO setups in Southampton

HMO licensing tests two things at the same time: who lives in the property and where the property is. Here is how the most common setups land under Southampton's current rules.

Three sharers from different households

This is a small HMO under section 254. Southampton's additional HMO scheme catches three-person shares, so the property needs an additional HMO licence if it sits inside the scheme area. Mandatory HMO licensing does not apply at this size.

Four sharers from different households

Southampton's additional HMO scheme catches four-person shares. The property needs an additional HMO licence inside the scheme area. Mandatory HMO licensing only kicks in at five.

Five or more sharers from different households

Mandatory HMO licensing applies anywhere in England. The headcount and household test is national, not council-specific. Southampton's additional HMO scheme then adds extra conditions on top of the mandatory licence inside the scheme area.

A house converted into bedsits or self-contained flats

A house split into bedsits or non-standard flats can be a section 257 HMO under the Building Regulations test, even when the headcount is below five. Southampton's additional HMO scheme can include section 257 HMOs in scope. The application asks for floor plans and proof that the property meets the 1991 Building Regulations.

Live-in landlord with one or two lodgers

The Schedule 14 exemption usually applies. The owner-occupier and the lodgers are treated as one household for licensing purposes, so the property is not an HMO and no licence is needed. Three or more lodgers brings it back inside the HMO definition.

What an HMO licence costs in Southampton

Mandatory HMO licence
£953

Standard timely-and-compliant HMO licence fee is £953, paid in two stages: £300 application fee and £653 licence issue fee. A late application is £1,618 and an approved independent surveyor route is £636.

Additional HMO licence
£953

Standard timely-and-compliant HMO licence fee is £953, paid in two stages: £300 application fee and £653 licence issue fee. A late application is £1,618 and an approved independent surveyor route is £636.

A landlord who qualifies for the strongest discounts the council offers pays around £653 instead of the headline £953. Discounts usually need to be evidenced at the point of application, not after the licence is issued.

HMO standards the council assesses

Southampton assesses every HMO licence application against statutory standards and the council's own published amenity rules. The application is not a paperwork exercise. Most councils inspect before issuing the first licence, and refusals are common where the property does not meet the standard.

Room sizes. The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018 set minimum sleeping room sizes: 6.51 m² for a single adult, 10.22 m² for two adults, and 4.64 m² for a child under ten. A bedroom that does not meet the minimum cannot count as a let room on the licence.

Bathrooms and kitchens. Councils typically require one bathroom per five occupiers and a kitchen sized for the number of households sharing it. Southampton's exact amenity standard is published with the application pack and is enforced as a licence condition.

Fire safety. Interlinked smoke alarms on every storey, a heat alarm in the kitchen, fire doors on every habitable room (FD30 typically), and a clear protected escape route. A fire risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is the landlord's responsibility and the council can ask for the assessment at any time.

Gas, electrical and energy. An annual gas safety certificate (if there is a gas supply), an EICR no more than five years old, and an Energy Performance Certificate of E or above for the property to be let lawfully under the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard regulations.

Planning permission and Article 4 directions

Converting a family home to an HMO is a change of use from Class C3 (dwellinghouse) to Class C4 (small HMO, up to six occupiers) or a sui generis HMO (seven or more). Outside areas covered by an Article 4 direction, the C3 to C4 change is permitted development and no planning application is needed. The HMO licence is a separate process either way.

Southampton may have an Article 4 direction that removes the permitted development right for HMO conversion in part or all of the borough. Where that applies, a planning application is required before the HMO can operate. The licence application then sits on top of the planning permission. Check the council's planning portal for current Article 4 areas before buying a property to convert.

Conversion to seven or more occupiers always needs a planning application as a sui generis HMO, regardless of whether an Article 4 direction is in force.

HMO mortgages and insurance

A standard buy-to-let mortgage does not normally permit HMO letting. Lending against an HMO needs an HMO mortgage product, often at a higher rate and with stricter loan-to-value caps. Lenders ask to see the HMO licence reference at completion and at renewal. Letting an unlicensed HMO breaches the mortgage conditions and can trigger a default.

Landlord insurance for an HMO is priced separately from single-let insurance. Cover for malicious damage, loss of rent, and public liability scales with occupier count. Insurers can refuse a claim where the property should have been licensed and was not, so the licence number goes on the policy schedule.

For overseas owners, Southampton also expects a UK-based managing agent named on the licence application. The agent's address has to be a real correspondence address, not a virtual office, so the council can serve notices.

Talk to Southampton directly

Anything on this page that you cannot find an answer to, the council's licensing team can confirm in minutes.

Email the licensing team

[email protected]

Phone the licensing team

023 8083 3006

Apply for a licence

Application form on Southampton's website

Public licence register

Search licensed properties in Southampton

Official licensing page

Southampton council guidance

Council postcode checker

Southampton's own street or postcode lookup

How to apply for an HMO licence

Applications go to the council. Southampton asks for the property address, the landlord and any agent's details, a floor plan, an Energy Performance Certificate, a current gas safety certificate, a current electrical safety report, and the fee.

The council assesses the application against HMO management regulations. The property has to meet room-size rules, fire-safety standards, and the council's HMO amenity standards on bathrooms, kitchens, and fire doors. Most councils inspect before issuing.

A licence usually lasts five years. It is tied to the named licence holder and the named property. Sell the property, change the manager, or change the number of occupiers above the licence and the licence has to be updated or re-applied for.

Penalties for unlicensed HMOs

Renting out an unlicensed HMO is a criminal offence under section 72 of the Housing Act 2004. The council can prosecute, or it can apply a civil penalty of up to £40,000 per offence and skip court.

Tenants of an unlicensed HMO can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order of up to 12 months of rent. Universal Credit paid for the same period can also be reclaimed.

A landlord cannot serve a valid section 21 notice on a tenant of a property that should have an HMO licence but does not. That blocks no-fault eviction until the licence is in place.