Braintree: mandatory HMO licensing with a five-year term
Braintree defines a licensable HMO as accommodation for five or more people from more than one household sharing facilities such as a bathroom, living room or kitchen. The council displays a £1,040 new-licence total and a £550 renewal fee. No current selective or additional designation was confirmed in the official material reviewed.
The mandatory definition
Braintree's current guidance covers accommodation for five or more people from more than one household who share facilities such as a bathroom, living room or kitchen. Each HMO needs its own licence, and a licence may last for up to five years. Keep the occupancy and household count current as tenants change.
The fee has two published parts
The council displays a £595 new-application fee and a £445 issue, maintenance and monitoring fee, making a displayed new-licence total of £1,040. Renewal is displayed at £550. Confirm the current payment stages and amount in the live application route before submitting, particularly if the property has changed since its last licence.
Use the current register
Braintree publishes an HMO public register dated May 2026, including a direct downloadable file. Use it as a starting point when checking a property, but confirm the licence conditions, holder and expiry with the council where a sale or management change is involved.
Enforcement has several routes
The council states that operating an HMO without a licence is a criminal offence with a fine of up to £20,000, while a breach of licence conditions can attract a fine of up to £5,000. Tenants may claim back rent for a period in which the property should have been licensed but was not. The current civil-penalty maximum, Temporary Exemption Notice route and detailed rent repayment process were not safely confirmed.
Planning controls are not licensing
Braintree's current Article 4 page identifies directions for Silver End Conservation Area and land off Back Lane, Stisted. The material reviewed does not describe either as an HMO-specific direction. Check planning permission separately from the HMO licence, especially for a C3-to-C4 change.
Selective and additional coverage needs an address check
No current selective or additional scheme was found on the council website during the review, but this is not confirmation that no designation exists. Current coverage, fees and exemptions are UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. Ask Braintree to confirm the route for an ordinary let or a smaller HMO before relying on an exemption.
Verify current thresholds, fees, application route, register and planning directions via Braintree District Council's official pages. Illustrative guide - schemes, fees and enforcement 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 - current status. 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.