HMO licence application pack from £475
A licence application stands or falls on its plans. We prepare the scaled drawings, the room schedule and the supporting documents, so the council can decide without coming back to you.
£475 fixed fee, no VAT to add
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The short answer
A licence application pack is the drawings and documents a council asks for when you apply for an HMO licence, or a selective licence in areas that have one. It shows every room, its size and use, and the way out. Our fee is £475, no VAT to add; the council’s licence fee is separate.
HMO or selective licence application pack
from £475
- Fixed fee
- £475
- VAT
- None to add
- Scaled floor plans of every floor, with each room numbered and its area stated
- A schedule of rooms, uses and the number of occupants each is for, checked against the minimum sizes
- Kitchens, bathrooms and toilets marked, with the number of occupants each serves
- The escape route and the position of alarms and fire doors, taken from your fire strategy
- A check of your council’s own standards, which can go beyond the national ones
- A completed set of the documents the council lists with its form, ready for you to sign and send
£475. A starting fee: we confirm one fixed figure after checking your address. The council’s own fee, where there is one, is paid to the council.
Get my fixed feeHow a pack is prepared
Check the licence type
We confirm whether you need a mandatory, additional or selective licence from the council’s published schemes.
Measure
We measure each room, or use a recent survey, so every area on the plan is exact.
Draw and schedule
Plans and the room schedule are produced to the council’s format.
Check against standards
Room sizes, amenities and escape are compared with national and local rules.
Hand over
You receive the pack and the list of what to send with the form and the fee.
Who needs a licence
A mandatory HMO licence is needed where the property is occupied by five or more persons living in two or more separate households, and the building meets one of the statutory tests (the 2018 Order). Councils may also run additional licensing for smaller HMOs and selective licensing for other rented homes in designated areas, which is why we check your council’s published schemes.
Letting without a licence where one is required is an offence under section 72 of the Housing Act 2004. A licence may last up to five years (section 68), so it is worth getting the plans right once.
What the council checks on your plans
The mandatory conditions set the smallest bedroom sizes: 6.51 square metres for one adult, 10.22 for two adults and 4.64 for a child under 10, and a room under 4.64 square metres cannot be used for sleeping (the 2018 Regulations). Councils add their own standards for kitchens, bathrooms and fire safety.
We mark the area of every room to two decimal places and list how many people each is for, so the officer can check the numbers without a visit. A room that is a few tenths of a square metre short is better found on the plan than at inspection.
- 6.51 m² for one adult; 10.22 m² for two adults; 4.64 m² for a child under 10
- Kitchen and bathroom provision matched to the number of occupants
- Escape route and alarms shown, as the council’s guidance asks
Conversions and existing HMOs
If you are converting a house to an HMO, our HMO conversion drawings handle the planning side and the pack follows from the same survey. If the house is already shared and only needs a licence, this pack is the standalone service.
The fire detail comes from the fire strategy plan where you have one, or we show the standard layout the council expects.
Licensing in numbers
5 people
Occupation by five or more people is one condition for a mandatory HMO licence.
Source: Licensing of HMOs (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018, article 4 (legislation.gov.uk)
2 households
The other condition: persons living in two or more separate households.
Source: Licensing of HMOs (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018, article 4 (legislation.gov.uk)
6.51 m²
Smallest bedroom for one person aged over 10 under the mandatory conditions.
Source: Licensing of HMOs (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)
10.22 m²
Smallest bedroom for two persons aged over 10.
Source: Licensing of HMOs (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)
4.64 m²
Smallest room that may be used for sleeping, and the smallest bedroom for a child under 10.
Source: Licensing of HMOs (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)
5 years
The longest a licence may run from the date it begins.
Source: Housing Act 2004, section 68: licence duration (legislation.gov.uk)
s72
Controlling or managing a licensable HMO without a licence is an offence.
Source: Housing Act 2004, section 72: offences in relation to licensing (legislation.gov.uk)
s61
Every HMO to which the mandatory licensing provisions apply must be licensed.
Source: Housing Act 2004, section 61: licensing of HMOs (legislation.gov.uk)
Questions about the pack
Does the pack include the council’s licence fee?
No. The council sets its own fee, and you pay it with the application. Our fee covers preparing the plans and documents.
Do I need a licence for a three-person shared house?
Not under the national mandatory rule, which starts at five people in two or more households. Your council may have an additional or selective scheme that covers it.
What if my rooms are too small?
Then the plan shows it before the council does. We suggest changes, such as reducing the number of occupants or reworking a room, and we draw them.
Can you submit the application for me?
We prepare the pack and the list of what to send, and you sign the forms and make the application as the licence holder.
Send the council a pack it can approve
Send the address and the number of tenants. We reply with the scope and a fixed fee of £475.