Council licensing · West Midlands

Licensing in Birmingham

Birmingham has selective licensing in 25 wards and additional HMO licensing across the whole council area.

Researched 14 October 2026 · Independently checked 14 October 2026

Check a specific address in Birmingham

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

Licensing, ward by ward

Tap a ward, or focus it with your keyboard, to see its name and recorded coverage.

Selective licensing area25
Additional HMO licensing area44

Additional HMO licensing also covers the whole council area.

Current ONS ward boundaries. Exemptions apply. Use the postcode check and scheme details for your property.

Selective licensing: 25 wards
Additional HMO licensing: Yes, whole council area
Article 4 on house shares: Yes
Consultation: None open

Licensing schemes

Selective licence
In force
Birmingham City Council's Designation of an Area for Selective Licensing 2023
Area
25 of Birmingham's 69 wards, delineated pink on the map at Annex A of the designation notice. The council's address checker confirms whether a property is covered.
25 wards, as named in the designation (2018 wards (the current 69-ward pattern; the council says the scheme covers 25 of Birmingham's 69 wards)):
Acocks Green
Alum Rock
Aston
Balsall Heath West
Birchfield
Bordesley Green
Bordesley & Highgate
Bournbrook & Selly Park
Edgbaston
Gravelly Hill
Handsworth
Heartlands
Holyhead
Ladywood
Lozells
North Edgbaston
Small Heath
Soho & Jewellery Quarter
South Yardley
Sparkbrook & Balsall Heath East
Sparkhill
Stockland Green
Tyseley & Hay Mills
Ward End
Yardley West & Stechford
Runs
5 June 2023 to 3 June 2028
Fee
£700 for 5 years
£700 per property, taken by continuous payment authority: £375 on application and £325 once the council decides to grant the draft licence. No discount for multiple properties and no instalment plan. Licences are not transferable, so a new owner or a new managing agent licence holder pays the full fee again. No refund if a licence is cancelled early. Fee pages last updated 18 June 2026.
Who needs one
Every privately rented house or flat in the 25 designated wards that is let or occupied under a tenancy or licence (single households and properties not needing an HMO licence).
Exemptions
Houses that need an HMO licence under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004; tenancies or licences granted by a registered social landlord; houses under an Interim or Final Management Order; houses with a temporary exemption under s86; and tenancies exempt under the Selective Licensing of Houses (Specified Exemptions) (England) Order 2006 (SI 2006/370). The council also lists properties managed directly by an educational establishment. Empty properties do not need a licence.
Notes
Cabinet made the designation on 1 March 2022. It was confirmed by the Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing for the Secretary of State on 5 September 2022, came into force on 5 June 2023, and the notice says it 'shall cease to have effect on 4 June 2028', so end_date is 3 June 2028, the last day in force, unless it is revoked earlier. Ward names are copied exactly as the designation notice spells them; the notice misspells two of them ('Bordsley & Highgate' for Bordesley & Highgate, and 'Bournbook & Selly Park' for Bournbrook & Selly Park), and its extracted ward table repeats Acocks Green, Gravelly Hill and South Yardley, leaving 25 unique wards, which matches the council's count. A licence lasts up to 5 years from the date the application is 'duly made'; there is no tacit consent. The 2022 designation notice still quotes the pre-Renters' Rights Act £30,000 penalty and a 12-month rent repayment order; the council's current pages say up to £40,000. No renewal consultation for the scheme ending in June 2028 was found. Ward names use the official ONS spellings. The designation notice prints 'Bordsley & Highgate', 'Bournbook & Selly Park' and 'Sparkbrook & Balsall Heath'; the last is the 2018 ward 'Sparkbrook & Balsall Heath East', since Birmingham has no ward of that exact name and the notice lists 'Balsall Heath West' separately.
Apply on the council site Licence conditions Designation or map
Sources
Additional HMO licence
In force
Birmingham City Council Designation of an Area for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation 2023
Area
All wards within the city of Birmingham.
Runs
5 June 2023 to 3 June 2028
Fee
£755
£755 per additional HMO licence (page updated 14 May 2026); a separate licence is needed for each HMO. A section 257 HMO building licence is also £755 (page updated 28 May 2026). Flats inside a s257 building may need their own selective, additional or mandatory licence. No Part A / Part B split is published for this fee.
Who needs one
Section 254 HMOs occupied by 3 or more people forming 2 or more households (in practice 3 or 4 occupants, because 5+ need a mandatory licence), and section 257 HMOs (buildings converted into self-contained flats that do not meet the 1991 Building Regulations) where less than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied.
Exemptions
Schedule 14 buildings (not HMOs for licensing purposes); HMOs under an Interim or Final Management Order; HMOs with a temporary exemption under s62; HMOs needing a mandatory licence under s55(2)(a); s257 HMOs consisting of only two flats where neither is above or below commercial premises; and s257 HMOs whose flats share no internal or external common parts and are no more than two storeys high. The council says no s257 licence is needed where the whole building is occupied by only 2 people living as 2 households.
Notes
The designation was made on 17 January 2023 under the 2015 General Approval, came into force on 5 June 2023. The designation says 'The designation shall cease to have effect on 4th June 2028', so end_date is 3 June 2028, the last day in force, unless it is revoked earlier. The council's s257 web page describes the threshold as 'two thirds or more of the flats are rented out', which differs slightly from the designation's 'less than two-thirds ... owner-occupied'; the designation wording governs. The council pages say no tacit consent applies. Licence length for additional licences is not stated on the council's pages.
Apply on the council site Licence conditions
Sources
Mandatory HMO licence
In forceMedium confidence
Mandatory HMO licensing (Housing Act 2004 Part 2)
Area
National scheme, applies across the whole city.
Fee
£1,125 for 5 years
From the council's 'HMO Fees 2022 to 2023' summary, the only fee schedule its HMO pages link to (in effect from 31 March 2022). Online applications: 5 occupants £1,125 (Part A £420 + Part B £705); 6 to 11 occupants £1,215 (£470 + £745); 12+ occupants £1,300 (£515 + £785). New and renewal fees are the same, and there is no accreditation discount. Optional extras: paper application sent £20, paper application processed £65, advice visit £200.
Who needs one
HMOs occupied by 5 or more people forming 2 or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet.
Notes
Included because the council publishes its own mandatory HMO fee schedule. Medium confidence because the only linked schedule is labelled 2022 to 2023 and may since have been uprated. The council says to apply for renewal at least two months before expiry; a new licence usually lasts five years but may be shorter if management is poor or a renewal was delayed. Processing usually takes about 56 days.
Apply on the council site
Sources

Article 4 for house shares

Birmingham has an Article 4 direction on houses in multiple occupation. Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission.

Area: Borough_wide (city-wide direction removing C3 to C4 permitted development rights for small HMOs of 3 to 6 people)
Takes effect: 8 June 2020

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.

Appendix 2 of the Regulation and Enforcement Enforcement Policy 2026 is the 'Birmingham City Council Civil Penalty Charging Policy - Private Rented Sector Housing' (the PDF is stamped 20260729; the page was updated 29 July 2026). It applies the Renters' Rights Act 2025 maximums: £40,000 for offences and £7,000 for lower-tier breaches. Starting points follow MHCLG statutory guidance: failure to obtain a selective licence £12,000 (£9,600 to £14,400 after the Landlord Type adjustment); failure to obtain an HMO licence £17,000 (£13,600 to £20,400); knowingly permitting HMO over-occupation £20,000. The Landlord Type adjustment is +20% (6+ properties ever, 3+ HMOs, corporate landlord or director, or significant experience) or -20% (no more than 2 properties, no more than 1 HMO and very limited experience). Aggravating and mitigating factors are each capped at 20%, followed by financial considerations and totality. The council sets its own starting points for licence-condition breaches. The council's civil penalty web page (updated 1 July 2024) only links to this policy.

Birmingham's civil penalty policy

Consultations

No consultation was recorded when we researched Birmingham.

Not yet confirmed

These points were unresolved when we researched Birmingham on 14 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

Not yet confirmed
Both the selective and additional designations cease to have effect on 4 June 2028, so their last day in force is 3 June 2028. No consultation on renewing either scheme was found on the council's site or its Be Heard consultation hub as of 14 October 2026.
Not yet confirmed
The mandatory HMO fee schedule linked from the council's pages is the 2022 to 2023 version; confirm whether fees have since been uprated.
Not yet confirmed
The Part A / Part B split of the £755 additional HMO licence fee, and the licence length for additional licences, are not published on the council's pages.
Not yet confirmed
Not independently re-checked (verification of 2026-10-14): whether the mandatory HMO fees (£1,125 / £1,215 / £1,300) have been uprated since the 2022 to 2023 schedule, which is still the only one the council links; no wider search for a later schedule was possible.

Landlord register

Licensing is separate from the national landlord register. Birmingham is in West Midlands, where the planned registration window runs from 15 December 2026 to 14 March 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Register dates, fee and documents