A house in multiple occupation needs a licence in two situations: everywhere in England when five or more occupants forming two or more households share facilities, which is mandatory HMO licensing, and inside Nottingham City's designated areas for smaller HMOs under the council's additional licensing scheme. The council charges an application fee under its published fee policy, and a licence generally lasts five years.
Which licence does a house share need?
Count the occupants and the households, then find the boundary. Five or more occupants in two or more households sharing a kitchen or bathroom is a mandatory HMO wherever it stands, in every council area we cover. Three or four sharers make a smaller HMO, which needs a licence only where an additional licensing scheme applies, and in our patch that means designated areas of Nottingham City. Rushcliffe, including West Bridgford, operates no additional scheme, so a three sharer house there needs no HMO licence at all. The council boundary, not the property, decides it: our Areas we cover page maps every area.
The council charges its own application fee, paid in two parts, and publishes the current figure in its fee policy. We confirm the fee for your address before anything is submitted, and where you accredit as a landlord the council charges less.
Five years' duration in the usual case, conditions on amenity standards, room sizes, safety records and management, and a holder who must normally reside in the UK or be a UK registered company. Enforcement starting points in Nottingham sit around £17,000 for an unlicensed HMO, with rent repayment orders of up to two years' rent available on top under the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
Running an HMO that keeps its licence
The licence is the entry ticket; keeping it is management. Gas safety annually, electrical condition reports five yearly, smoke alarms on every storey, carbon monoxide alarms where there are fixed combustion appliances, room size compliance, waste arrangements and a manager the council can actually reach. Our Fully Managed service runs HMOs to that standard, we prepare HMO licence applications at £280 including any VAT plus the council's own fee, and for owners abroad the named licence holding inside Overseas landlord management solves the residence requirement. General information, not advice on a particular building; HMO standards turn on the individual property and we confirm the position before you rely on it.
