Brighton & Hove: citywide small-HMO licensing, six selective wards
Brighton & Hove licenses small HMOs across the entire city and runs selective licensing in a growing list of wards. Four wards came into a selective scheme on 2 September 2024; two more - Regency and Central Hove - are added from 20 October 2026 under a designation made on 6 July 2026. If you let in the city, the odds you need some form of licence are high and rising.
Which wards, and from when
The 2024 designation covers Kemp Town, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queens Park, and Whitehawk & Marina, and runs until 1 September 2029. The 2026 designation adds Regency and Central Hove from 20 October 2026 - applications open online on that date - running to 19 October 2031. Selective licensing applies to any house let under a tenancy or licence in those areas, except properties already licensable as mandatory or additional HMOs, registered social landlord lets, and properties under management orders or exemption notices.
The two-storey rule for small HMOs
Brighton & Hove's citywide additional scheme, running from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2029, catches HMOs of two or more storeys occupied by three or four unrelated people. That storey test matters: a single-storey flat or bungalow shared by three or four unrelated occupiers falls outside the HMO schemes - and the council is explicit that selective licensing picks it up instead if it's in a designated ward. Section 257 buildings are not licensed as whole buildings here; the individual flats within them are.
Get your EPC sorted before you apply, not after
The council offers £75 off for landlord accreditation, £75 for an EPC rated C or above, and £75 for registered charity ownership - but you can claim a maximum of two, capping the saving at £150. Crucially, no discounts are available at all if you're charged the late fee, which applies once you've been operating unlicensed for 28 days or more. Applying on time with a current EPC is worth real money.
Penalties for letting unlicensed
The council's published position is a financial penalty as an alternative to prosecution, or an unlimited fine on conviction, plus rent repayment orders letting tenants reclaim rent already paid. The figures quoted differ between its 2024 and 2026 designation notices, so check the current notice for your ward rather than assuming. Either way, you cannot serve a valid section 21 notice on a tenant of an unlicensed licensable property, and the council can take over management.
Verify your ward and current fees via Brighton & Hove City Council's selective licensing, HMO licensing and designation notice pages. Illustrative guide - designations, wards and fees 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.
Additional HMO licensing (3-4 occupants): YES - citywide to 30 Jun 2029. 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.