Licences generally run for five years. As with any Nottingham licence, the holder must reside in the UK or be a UK registered company, so an overseas owner cannot hold it personally. An HMO is also the hardest kind of tenancy to run from abroad, and this page explains why.
What counts as an HMO, and which licence applies
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England to a house in multiple occupation with five or more occupants forming two or more households. That is national law and it applies wherever the property is, including in areas with no local scheme at all.
Additional HMO licensing is a local scheme that extends licensing to smaller HMOs. Nottingham City Council has operated one since 1 December 2023, so in the City a three or four person sharing arrangement may need a licence where the same property elsewhere in Nottinghamshire would not.
This is where boundaries bite hardest. Lenton and Dunkirk are in the City, and additional licensing is the live issue there. Beeston, which is full of the same kind of property, is in Broxtowe.
The fees
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.
Why an HMO is harder to run from abroad
Licence conditions on an HMO are substantive rather than administrative. They typically address room sizes, amenity standards, fire precautions, and the management arrangements themselves. Meeting them is a matter of the physical property and of somebody being there.
Occupancy changes more often. Five separate people means five sets of referencing, five deposits, and a turnover pattern that does not wait for a convenient month. Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 each of those is a periodic tenancy with its own statutory process.
And the licence holder carries the responsibility for all of it. That is a real liability, not a name on a form, which is why the arrangement needs a properly drafted agreement dealing with indemnity, access, the funding of works and termination.
The honest advice
If you are buying to let from overseas and the choice is between a single family let and an HMO, the single let is the easier proposition by a wide margin, and the HMO is the one that goes wrong when nobody is close by. The yield on an HMO reflects the work in it.
If you already own an HMO and you are abroad, the answer is a UK licence holder with real management behind it. We act as licence holder as part of our overseas landlord management service at 12% of the rent (including any VAT), and we charge £280 (including any VAT) to prepare and handle an HMO licence application. Trent Law Solicitors can draft the licence holder agreement and advise on the exposure.
Questions we are asked
How much is an HMO licence in Nottingham?
Licences generally run for five years.
What makes a property an HMO requiring a mandatory licence?
Five or more occupants forming two or more households. That is national law and applies wherever the property is.
Could a three person share need a licence?
In the Nottingham City area it may, because the Council has operated an additional HMO licensing scheme since 1 December 2023. Outside the City the position depends on that council's own schemes.
Can I hold an HMO licence if I live abroad?
No. The holder must reside in the UK or, if a company, be registered in the UK. We can act as holder as part of our overseas management service.
Is any of the HMO fee refundable if refused?
On an HMO refusal is a more real risk than on a single let, because it often turns on the property's physical standards.
Sources
Nottingham City Council, Housing Licensing Fee Policy, version 7, effective 1 April 2025
Nottingham City Council, Licensing for Landlords
Housing Act 2004
Council fees are reviewed each April. General information, not legal advice.
General information about the law and practice in England. Not tax advice or legal advice.
