Licensing in Herefordshire

• Mandatory HMO licence

  In force

  Mandatory HMO licensing (national scheme, Herefordshire fees)

  Area

  The whole of Herefordshire (national scheme).

  Fee

  £1,404 for 5 years

  Fee table headed 'Effective 1 April 2026'. Basic application fee for a 5-year HMO licence: £1,404. Discounts: 5% if accredited under the Midland Landlord Accreditation Scheme (or equivalent), or applied for it at the time of application; 5% for membership of one or more recognised landlord associations; 15% for renewal of an HMO licence. The council's quick reference guide: £1,334 (one 5% discount), £1,264 (both 5% discounts), £1,194 (renewal), £1,123 (renewal plus one discount), £1,053 (renewal plus two discounts). An application without the full fee is not treated as complete and is not processed. A withdrawn application is not refunded in full. Processing can take up to 62 days.

  Who needs one

  Any property let to five or more people in two or more separate households who share bathroom or cooking facilities, regardless of the number of storeys (the three-storey test was removed on 1 October 2018).

  Exemptions

  The council page says buildings owned or managed by local councils, health authorities, housing associations and education establishments cannot be HMOs, and that houses fully converted into self-contained flats to at least post-1991 Building Regulations standards will generally not be HMOs. Other statutory exemptions are in Schedule 14 to the Housing Act 2004.

  Notes

  This is the national scheme. Herefordshire publishes its own page and fees. On 15 May 2026 the Cabinet Member for Roads and Regulatory Services adopted the Justice for Tenants (JFT) standard HMO licence conditions as the council's standard conditions, effective 22 May 2026. The HMO page still links an older 2012 conditions document. The HMO page also still says the civil penalty maximum is £30,000, which is out of date; the council's May 2026 civil penalty policy uses the £40,000 statutory maximum. Applications can be made online through GOV.UK or on a printable form. A public register of HMO licences is published.

  Apply on the council siteLicence conditions

  Sources

  • herefordshire.gov.uk: hmo
  • councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk: ieDecisionDetails

We found no Article 4 direction on house shares in Herefordshire.

Council source

Herefordshire's civil penalty policy

No consultation was recorded when we researched Herefordshire.

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

• Not yet confirmed

  No selective or additional licensing designation, consultation or proposal was found. The council site search for 'selective licensing' and 'additional licensing' returned nothing housing-related, and the May 2026 civil penalty policy is the 'no selective licensing' version. The council does not state the absence anywhere, so this is inferred.

• Not yet confirmed

  Article 4: the absence of a C3 to C4 direction is based on site search and planning.data.gov.uk only; no council list of Article 4 directions was found to confirm it.

• Not yet confirmed

  The HMO page still says the civil penalty maximum is £30,000 and links 2012 licence conditions, both superseded by the May 2026 decision. Confirm which conditions are attached to new licences.

• Not yet confirmed

  Not independently re-checked (verification of 2026-10-14): the absence of an Article 4 direction and of any selective or additional scheme, which rests on the council sitemap and planning.data.gov.uk; no web search was possible.

Licensing is separate from the national landlord register. Herefordshire 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