Landlord licensing and compliance in Dorset

Mandatory licensing, and the two prices that are both right

Dorset Council licenses HMOs occupied by five or more people who share a bathroom, toilet or kitchen. From 1 April 2026 the fee is £900 for a first five-year licence and £740 to renew for a further five years. Landlords who commit to the standards required by the council's Landlord Forum or a recognised landlord association get a 10% discount, taking those figures to £810 and £666. Both figures are correct and current for the same licence, so quote both rather than assuming one is wrong. Applications go in by form, with an online form announced as coming, and appeals go to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) within 28 days.

Standards and the public register

Amenity standards set minimum bedroom sizes of 6.51 sq m for one person over 10, 10.22 sq m for two people over 10 and 4.64 sq m for a child under 10, alongside bathroom, toilet, cooking, waste and fire safety requirements, with LACORS fire guidance and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applying to common parts. The public register is published as a spreadsheet, most recently the Mandatory HMO Licence Register as of 6 August 2026, so check the current version rather than a saved copy. The council's own documentation notes that the manager of an unlicensed HMO cannot serve a section 21 notice on an HMO tenant.

Enforcement has been rewritten for the Renters' Rights Act

The Housing Standards and Tenancy Rights Enforcement Policy came into force on 1 May 2026, was amended on 29 July 2026 and will be reviewed no later than 30 April 2029. The separate Policy for Civil Penalties under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and Other Housing Legislation was adopted on 29 July 2026. The matrix works in five steps: a starting point by seriousness, a 20% adjustment up or down for landlord type and portfolio size, up to 20% for mitigating or aggravating factors, financial considerations, then the totality principle. HMO landlords are expressly treated as warranting a higher level of professionalism, so a landlord with three or more HMOs faces the upward adjustment. The monetary starting points in that matrix, and any penalties actually imposed, are UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website.

Verify current designations via Dorset Council's Mandatory HMO licensing, Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), Houses in Multiple Occupation Amenity Standards, Housing Standards and Tenancy Rights Enforcement Policy, Policy for Civil Penalties under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and Article 4 Directions pages. Illustrative guide - scheme boundaries and dates change; general information, not legal advice.