Broxbourne: mandatory HMO licensing with a current register
Broxbourne requires a mandatory HMO licence for five or more occupants in two or more households sharing a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. The displayed fee is £1,820 per property plus £159 for each bedroom over five, and the council publishes an August 2026 register. Current selective and additional licensing coverage was not confirmed.
The mandatory HMO route
Broxbourne's licensing page covers five or more occupants in two or more households sharing a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. It also covers certain converted self-contained flats that do not meet specified Building Regulations or short-term tenancy conditions. Check the building and occupancy arrangement rather than relying on a simple room count.
A separate application for each property
The displayed fee is £1,820 per property plus £159 for each bedroom over five. The base fee is paid in two £910 stages, with excess-bedroom charges added at the second stage. Each property needs a separate three-part application, and the council asks for applications and renewals at least eight weeks before the relevant date.
Use the August 2026 register
Broxbourne publishes an HMO register explicitly labelled August 2026. It is the strongest current register evidence in the reviewed material, but still check the licence conditions, expiry and holder with the council when buying or taking over management.
Enforcement and rent repayment
Unlicensed operation may result in prosecution, imprisonment or a civil penalty of up to £30,000 per offence. Tenants may seek a rent repayment order, and breach of licence conditions is an offence. The reviewed pages did not confirm a current local Temporary Exemption Notice route or separate civil-penalty tariff.
Do not overread the planning material
Current selective and additional licensing status was UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. The Article 4 material located was generic or related to Class MA, and the HMO planning standards located were dated October 2020. Do not assume either proves a current HMO-specific Article 4 direction; check planning separately.
Verify current HMO thresholds, fees, applications, the August 2026 register and planning position via Broxbourne Borough Council's official pages. Illustrative guide - schemes, fees and planning controls 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.