Bath and North East Somerset: additional licensing expired
Bath and North East Somerset currently centres its local guidance on mandatory HMO licensing. The additional HMO scheme expired on 31 December 2023 and the council says a replacement would require consultation. A current selective designation was not confirmed in the official material reviewed, so check the address before treating an ordinary let or smaller HMO as exempt.
Mandatory licensing across the district
B&NES requires a mandatory HMO licence for five or more people forming more than one household and sharing facilities. The council also describes an exemption for qualifying flats in purpose-built blocks containing at least three self-contained flats. Check the building and facility arrangement rather than relying only on the number of storeys.
The additional scheme has expired
The additional HMO licensing scheme ended on 31 December 2023. The council says a replacement would need consultation. No current selective designation was confirmed in the official material reviewed, so this guide does not treat the expired scheme or any consultation work as a current licence requirement.
New and renewal fees
The council displays £1,025 for a new HMO licence, including a £620 Part 1 fee, and a £50 discount for qualifying applicants. Renewal material displays £925. Licences usually last five years. Confirm the current fee schedule and discount criteria in the live application route before paying.
A licence does not transfer on sale
B&NES states that an HMO licence does not transfer when a property is sold, so the buyer must apply for a new licence. Renewal is available only where the licence holder remains the same. The council provides an online application route and a public register; check both when buying or taking over management.
Bath planning controls are separate
The City of Bath Article 4 Direction controls C3-to-C4 HMO conversions from 1 July 2013. It is a planning control, not a property licence. The council's 2026 enforcement-policy consultation proposed starting penalties of £20,000 for serious fire or amenity breaches, £12,000 for safety-document failures and £7,000 for other conditions, but those figures were consultation proposals rather than confirmed adopted tariffs.
Verify current licence types, fees, applications, the register and Bath planning controls via Bath and North East Somerset Council's official pages. Illustrative guide - schemes, fees and policy proposals change; general information, not legal advice.
Renewal tracked from expiry, reminders from 60 days out, proof of service to tenants logged. Knows the 2-month early-renewal rule that keeps your date fixed.
Five years goes quicker than you think. Kept remembers so you don't have to - including the 28-day duty to give tenants a copy.
Expiry tracked from the certificate details you confirm - band E is the current minimum for most domestic private lets unless exempt, and proposed changes are flagged only when they become law.
30-day protection window tracked from the day the money lands - not the tenancy date - with prescribed information logged.
Check dates and follow-up dates for time-limited permissions, stored against each tenant.
Smoke alarms every storey, CO alarms where required, checked and dated at the start of every tenancy.
A one-off duty for tenancies that existed on 1 May 2026. Who was served, when, and how - the £7,000 question, answered with a dated record.
Preparation and export support for the future official registration process - clearly marked as planned.
Selective licensing: UNVERIFIED - confirm by address. See the local picture above - every other duty applies exactly as it does nationwide.
Add a postcode and Kept resolves the council, location and local context automatically.
Planned preparation and export support for the government's regional PRS Database rollout.