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Licensing in Arun

Arun has additional HMO licensing in 3 wards.

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Check an address in Arun

We'll match the postcode to its ward and the schemes below.

Licensing, ward by ward

Select a ward to see its name and licensing.

  • Additional HMO licensing area3
  • National rules only20

Current ward boundaries from ONS. Some homes are exempt, so check your postcode and the scheme details below.

Selective licensing
None
Additional HMO licensing
Yes, 3 wards
Article 4 on house shares
Yes
Consultation
None open

Licensing schemes

  • Additional HMO licence

    In force

    Arun District Council Additional HMO Licensing Scheme 2025 (River, Hotham and Marine wards) — section 254 HMOs

    Area

    River Ward in Littlehampton and Hotham Ward and Marine Ward in Bognor Regis, with maps in Annex A of the designation.

    3 wards named in the scheme:

    • River
    • Hotham
    • Marine

    Ward boundaries: current (2019 wards)

    Runs
    1 February 2025 to 30 January 2030. The council notice says it ceases to have effect on 31 January 2030
    Fee

    Published standard fee: £2,347

    Council 'Fees and charges 2026-27' page: 3- or 4-person house or flat £1,902 Part 1 (application) + £445 Part 2 (issue) = £2,347; section 257 building up to 6 flats £2,023 + £445 = £2,468; section 257 building with more than 6 flats £2,144 + £445 = £2,589; section 254 converted building £1,942 + £445 = £2,387. No renewal fees or discounts are shown.

    Who needs one
    HMOs occupied by three or more persons comprising two or more households that are not already subject to mandatory licensing: in practice 3 or 4 people from 2 or more households sharing toilet, washing or cooking facilities, and section 254 converted buildings. Section 257 converted blocks are a separate record under the same designation.
    Exemptions
    Annex C: buildings occupied by only two people forming two households; an owner living in the property with no more than two lodgers; owner-occupied properties other than section 257 converted blocks; properties already subject to mandatory HMO licensing; buildings managed by public bodies or housing associations, student halls, certain care and adult-placement settings, short-term commercial lets, and properties under management orders or temporary exemption notices. Section 257 buildings with no internal or external common parts, and two flats sharing a small ground-floor lobby, are excluded (para. 12(e)).
    Apply on the council’s websiteLicence conditionsCouncil's map or designation
    How we checked this

    Full Council resolved on 10 January 2024 to implement the scheme; the designation was made on 1 November 2024. Para. 11: 'This Designation shall come into force on 1st February 2025' and will 'cease to have effect on 31st January 2030' or earlier if revoked under section 60. Online applications opened 17 December 2024. The council's apply page says a licence lasts a maximum of five years: a valid, complete application within three months of the scheme starting or the property falling into scope gets up to five years; a property unlicensed for more than three months, or with management-regulation breaches, gets 1-4 years; unlicensed for more than a year gets one year. No refund is made if the scheme ends early. The council's scheme timeline lists 'Full HMO non-compliance Penalty Schedule commencement' on 1 May 2025; that schedule is the reduced-licence-period regime on the apply page (above), not a fee table. Designation para. 11 wording: 'This Designation shall come into force on 1st February 2025 and cease to have effect on 31st January 2030, or earlier if the Council revokes the scheme under section 60 of the Act.'

    Sources

  • Additional HMO licence

    In force

    Arun District Council Additional HMO Licensing Scheme 2025 (River, Hotham and Marine wards) — section 257 converted blocks

    Area

    River Ward in Littlehampton and Hotham Ward and Marine Ward in Bognor Regis, with maps in Annex A of the designation.

    3 wards named in the scheme:

    • River
    • Hotham
    • Marine

    Ward boundaries: current (2019 wards)

    Runs
    1 February 2025 to 30 January 2030. The council notice says it ceases to have effect on 31 January 2030
    Fee

    Published standard fee: £2,468

    Council 'Fees and charges 2026-27' page: 3- or 4-person house or flat £1,902 Part 1 (application) + £445 Part 2 (issue) = £2,347; section 257 building up to 6 flats £2,023 + £445 = £2,468; section 257 building with more than 6 flats £2,144 + £445 = £2,589; section 254 converted building £1,942 + £445 = £2,387. No renewal fees or discounts are shown.

    Who needs one
    Section 257 converted blocks: buildings converted into self-contained flats whose conversion did not comply, and still does not comply, with the appropriate building standards defined in Housing Act 2004 section 257(3). Which standards apply turns on when the building work was completed (before or after 1 June 1992), whether it was dealt with by regulation 20 of the Building Regulations 1991, and whether it would have been exempt under those Regulations. The scheme covers those blocks (including the common parts where two or more flats share a communal hallway) where less than two-thirds of the self-contained flats are owner-occupied, unless excluded by paragraph 12(e). The licence is for the block, not each individual flat.
    Exemptions
    Annex C: buildings occupied by only two people forming two households; an owner living in the property with no more than two lodgers; owner-occupied properties other than section 257 converted blocks; properties already subject to mandatory HMO licensing; buildings managed by public bodies or housing associations, student halls, certain care and adult-placement settings, short-term commercial lets, and properties under management orders or temporary exemption notices. Section 257 buildings with no internal or external common parts, and two flats sharing a small ground-floor lobby, are excluded (para. 12(e)).
    Apply on the council’s websiteLicence conditionsCouncil's map or designation
    How we checked this

    Full Council resolved on 10 January 2024 to implement the scheme; the designation was made on 1 November 2024. Para. 11: 'This Designation shall come into force on 1st February 2025' and will 'cease to have effect on 31st January 2030' or earlier if revoked under section 60. Online applications opened 17 December 2024. The council's apply page says a licence lasts a maximum of five years: a valid, complete application within three months of the scheme starting or the property falling into scope gets up to five years; a property unlicensed for more than three months, or with management-regulation breaches, gets 1-4 years; unlicensed for more than a year gets one year. No refund is made if the scheme ends early. The council's scheme timeline lists 'Full HMO non-compliance Penalty Schedule commencement' on 1 May 2025; that schedule is the reduced-licence-period regime on the apply page (above), not a fee table. Designation para. 11 wording: 'This Designation shall come into force on 1st February 2025 and cease to have effect on 31st January 2030, or earlier if the Council revokes the scheme under section 60 of the Act.'

    Sources

  • Mandatory HMO licence

    In force

    Mandatory HMO licensing (national scheme, Arun fees)

    Area

    The whole of Arun District (national scheme).

    Fee

    Published standard fee: £2,387

    Council 'Fees and charges 2026-27' page: Part 1 application fee £1,942 for a 5-person base (includes the first five occupants) plus £50 for each additional occupant, paid at application; Part 2 licence issue fee £445 paid before the licence is issued. The page leaves the total blank; £2,387 is the 5-person sum of the two parts. No renewal fee or discounts are shown.

    Who needs one
    HMOs occupied by five or more people forming two or more households who share facilities (national mandatory test).
    Apply on the council’s websiteLicence conditions
    How we checked this

    The council's mandatory licensing page says 'A mandatory HMO licence is valid for a maximum of 5 years' (any period between one and five years). Its penalty schedule: a valid and complete application within three months of the property becoming licensable gets up to five years; a property found operating without a mandatory licence for more than three months gets a one-year licence; breaches of management regulations or other housing legislation give a reduced 1-4 year licence, and enforcement (prosecution or civil penalty notice) and rent repayment orders may also follow.

    Sources

Article 4 for house shares

Arun has an Article 4 direction on HMOs (houses in multiple occupation, or shared houses). Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission.

Area
Marine, Hotham (Bognor Regis) and River (Littlehampton) wards: Article 4(1) directions removing permitted development rights for changes of use to small C4 HMOs, so planning permission is needed. Full Council resolved on 18 January 2023 (minute 581, on Planning Committee minute 563 of 11 January 2023) that the directions for the three wards 'come into effect on 19 January 2023'. planning.data.gov.uk holds no Arun Article 4 records.
Takes effect
19 Jan 2023

Council source

Civil penalty policy

The council's policy sets how it decides the size of a fine. The version we found has been updated for the Renters' Rights Act.

Civil penalties sit in the council's joint Enforcement Policy for Environmental Health, Private Sector Housing, Licensing, Cleansing, Communities and Building Control. The Environment Committee considered a revised policy on 18 November 2025 (minute 318; Appendix A is the policy text), which sets a starting-level matrix (Mild £2,500, Moderate £7,500, Serious £12,500, Very Serious £17,500, Severe £22,500, Very Severe £27,500) adjusted for aggravating and mitigating factors: failure to license a mandatory HMO is 'Very Serious' (starting level £17,500) and failure to license under the additional scheme is 'Serious' (starting level £12,500). Under delegated authority from that minute, the Group Head of Technical Services agreed further amendments on 28 August 2026 (published 29 September 2026) 'to reflect the new powers under the Renters Rights Act 2025, changes to the Housing Act 2004 and introduction of Government Guidance for the issuing of civil penalty notices' (democracy.arun.gov.uk); the amended policy text itself was not found, so current penalty amounts may differ from the November 2025 text.

Arun's civil penalty policy

Consultations

Not yet confirmed

We could not settle these points when we researched Arun. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

  • Not yet confirmed

    No selective licensing scheme or proposal was found: committee papers (2020-2023) show selective licensing was assessed as an option and only additional HMO licensing was adopted.

  • Not yet confirmed

    Retrieve the August 2026 amended enforcement policy text and confirm whether the civil penalty starting levels changed from the November 2025 version.

  • Not yet confirmed

    The council website does not appear to publish a page for the HMO Article 4 directions; boundaries are taken as the three whole wards named in the Full Council resolution.

Landlord register

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Arun is in South East, where registration is planned from 15 March 2027 to 14 June 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Read about the register