Eastbourne: mandatory HMO licensing and a ward-based Article 4 direction
Eastbourne's shared Lewes and Eastbourne housing service confirms mandatory HMO licensing for five or more unrelated occupiers forming separate households and sharing amenities. A planning Article 4 direction has applied in named Eastbourne wards since July 2025, while local fees and the status of additional or selective licensing need checking.
Mandatory licensing and renewals
The Lewes and Eastbourne housing service says an Eastbourne HMO occupied by five or more unrelated people forming separate households and sharing amenities needs a licence. The shared service provides applications, renewals, prescribed standards and a public register. Renewal applications should be submitted at least four weeks before the existing licence expires.
Fees and local schemes
Eastbourne's 2026/27 HMO fee schedule is published, but the exact figures could not be read reliably and are UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. The current additional HMO and selective licensing position, local licence duration and local penalty figures are also UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. Use the council's online application portal or contact the shared Private Sector Housing team before applying.
Planning is separate from licensing
Eastbourne's Article 4 Direction took effect on 30 July 2025 in Devonshire, Meads, Upperton and part of St Anthony's ward. In the defined area, planning permission is required for small HMOs of three to six people. Larger HMOs of more than six people are treated as sui generis and also require planning permission. An HMO licence does not grant planning permission.
The shared service can be contacted at private.housing@lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk, and applications and renewals are made through its customer portal. Check the address against the current register and Article 4 map rather than relying on a general Eastbourne label.
Verify current details via the Lewes and Eastbourne shared Houses in multiple occupancy page, Eastbourne HMO Planning page, public register and customer application portal. Illustrative guide - scheme boundaries and dates 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 (ordinary lets): UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. 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.