# Licensing in Fareham > Fareham has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force. - Checked 26 Oct 2026 (researched_at 2026-10-26, verified_at 2026-10-26) - Region: South East - ONS code: E07000087 - Web page: https://lettance.com/councils/fareham - API: https://lettance.com/api/v1/councils/fareham ## Licensing schemes ### Mandatory HMO licence: Mandatory HMO licensing (national scheme, Fareham) - Status: In force (`in_force`) - Area: The whole of Fareham Borough (national scheme). - Fee: Published standard fee: £1,090. 'Published Fees and Charges 2026/27' (Appendix A to the General Fund Fees and Charges report, Executive 7 January 2026), Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupancy (not subject to VAT), fee on application + fee on grant: 5 people £727 + £363 = £1,090; 6-10 people £913 + £457; 11-15 people £1,100 + £550; 16-20 people £1,276 + £633; more than 20 people £1,453 + £727. The 2025/26 column shows single totals (5 people £1,050; 6-10 £1,320; 11-15 £1,590; 16-20 £1,839; over 20 £2,100). Registered charities are exempt from fees (application form). The schedule also lists Renters' Rights Act civil penalties 'Up to £7,000' and 'Up to £40,000' as new items. - Licence length: 5 years - Who needs one: HMOs with five or more occupiers forming two or more separate households, regardless of storeys, in a house or self-contained flat that is not a purpose-built flat in a block of three or more self-contained flats, where occupants share amenities, at least one pays rent and it is their main residence (council HMO page). - Exemptions: The council page lists exempt properties such as student halls of residence and property owned or managed by the council, a social landlord or the NHS. The application form says registered charities are exempt from paying HMO licence fees. - Apply: http://www.fareham.gov.uk/pdf/licencing_and_inspections/HMOAppForm2023.pdf - Licence conditions: https://www.fareham.gov.uk/pdf/licencing_and_inspections/hmoamenity.pdf - Confidence: High - How we checked this: The council page says 'A licence once granted lasts for 5 years.' All known HMOs are inspected, with Hampshire Fire & Rescue where necessary, under a joint Fareham and Gosport fire safety protocol (January 2009). The council keeps a public register of HMO licences. - Sources: https://www.fareham.gov.uk/licensing_and_inspections/environmental_polution/hmos.aspx, http://www.fareham.gov.uk/pdf/licencing_and_inspections/HMOAppForm2023.pdf, https://moderngov.fareham.gov.uk/documents/s45314/General%20Fund%20Fees%20and%20Charges%20Report%20Appendix%20A.pdf ## Article 4 for house shares Not yet confirmed: whether Fareham has an Article 4 direction on house shares. Council source: https://www.planning.data.gov.uk/entity.json?dataset=article-4-direction-area&organisation_entity=137 ## Civil penalty policy The council's policy sets how it decides the size of a fine. On 23 March 2026 the Executive approved for public consultation a 'Draft Policy on Civil Penalties Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and Other Housing Legislation' (https://moderngov.fareham.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=2777), with up to £40,000 for serious, persistent or repeat offences and up to £7,000 for lower-level breaches; the draft sets a £17,000 starting point for failure to obtain an HMO licence (s.72(1)), landlord-type adjustment £13,600 / £20,400. A draft Private Rented Sector Housing Enforcement Policy was approved for consultation the same day (https://moderngov.fareham.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=2778). Final adoption after consultation was not confirmed. Policy: https://moderngov.fareham.gov.uk/documents/s46499/Appendix%20A%20-%20Draft%20Policy%20on%20Civil%20Penalties%20Under%20the%20Renters%20Rights%20Act%202025.pdf ## Consultations We found no consultations when we researched Fareham. ## Not yet confirmed We could not settle these points when we researched Fareham on 26 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them. - No selective or additional licensing scheme, proposal or consultation was found on the council's landlord and private housing pages, in the delegated and committee decisions list (October 2024 to October 2026), in the 2026 Executive agendas (January to October) or in the committee document search for 'selective licensing'. Absence is inferred, not stated by the council. - Confirm whether the March 2026 draft civil penalty and enforcement policies have been adopted after consultation; no adoption item appeared on the Executive agendas from May to October 2026. - Absence of an HMO Article 4 direction rests on the planning.data.gov.uk list; the council's own Article 4 page was not located. ## Landlord register The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Fareham 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: https://lettance.com/register --- From Lettance: https://lettance.com/councils/fareham (catalogue edition 31 October 2026). This is information, not legal advice. Check the linked sources, and the council's own pages, before you act.