Licensing in Bracknell Forest
Bracknell Forest has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.
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Check an address in Bracknell Forest
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.
- National rules only15
Current ward boundaries from ONS. Some homes are exempt, so check your postcode and the scheme details below.
- Selective licensing
- None
- Additional HMO licensing
- No
- Article 4 on house shares
- Not yet confirmed
- Consultation
- None open
Licensing schemes
Mandatory HMO licence
In forceMedium confidenceMandatory HMO licensing (national scheme, administered by the Public Protection Partnership)
- Area
The whole of Bracknell Forest (national scheme). HMO licensing is run by the Public Protection Partnership (PPP), the shared regulatory service of Bracknell Forest and West Berkshire councils.
- Fee
Not yet confirmed
The PPP HMO page says 'The HMO application fee is reviewed annually' and points to its fees and charges page, which publishes no figures and asks applicants to contact licensing@bracknell-forest.gov.uk. No fee figure was found.
- Who needs one
- HMOs occupied by five or more people forming two or more households who share basic amenities (toilet, bathroom and/or kitchen), as their only or main residence, where rent is payable; covers the standard, self-contained flat and converted building tests (PPP HMO page).
How we checked this
The PPP page lists the documents needed for a duly made application (signed form, fee, floor plan, fire risk assessment, photo ID, proof of address, electrical, gas, fire alarm, PAT and emergency lighting certificates) and says the council keeps a public register of HMOs, available on request. Online applications go through the GOV.UK HMO licence service. Licence length is not stated.
Article 4 for house shares
Whether Bracknell Forest has an Article 4 direction on house shares.
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.
Housing enforcement for Bracknell Forest is carried out by the Public Protection Partnership. On 9 March 2026 the Joint Public Protection Committee (hosted on West Berkshire's committee site) noted the principles of the Housing Enforcement Policy for the Renters' Rights Act and that the model Civil Penalty Policy Procedure drafted for use across England (Justice for Tenants model, Appendix 2) 'will be used by the Public Protection Partnership', noting civil penalties for housing offences had already been agreed at the JPPC in October 2022, and approved its use (minute 9, decisionmaking.westberks.gov.uk). Penalty amounts were not extracted from the model policy.
Consultations
We found no consultations when we researched Bracknell Forest.
Not yet confirmed
We could not settle these points when we researched Bracknell Forest. Check them with the council before you rely on them.
- Not yet confirmed
The mandatory HMO licence fee and licence term are not published by the PPP or the council; confirm with licensing@bracknell-forest.gov.uk.
- Not yet confirmed
No selective or additional licensing scheme, proposal or consultation was found on the council's housing and planning pages, the PPP site search ('selective licensing') or the council's committee document search ('selective licensing', 'houses in multiple occupation', 'HMO licence'), which shows only a 2017-18 scrutiny working group on HMOs. Absence is inferred, not stated by the council.
- Not yet confirmed
Absence of an HMO Article 4 direction is inferred from the constraints page list of six site-specific directions; the individual direction PDFs were not opened.
Landlord register
The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Bracknell Forest 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