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Licensing in Horsham

Horsham has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.

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Check an address in Horsham

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 only22

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 force

    Mandatory HMO licensing (national scheme, Horsham fees)

    Area

    The whole of Horsham District (national scheme).

    Fee

    Published standard fee: £1,219

    Council 'Apply for a HMO licence' page (no fee year printed), same for new licences and renewals: application fee £1,164 for up to 5 bedrooms/bedsits plus £55 issuing fee = £1,219, reduced to £1,169 if both are paid together upfront; £65 for each room above five (6 rooms £1,284 or £1,234 upfront; 7 rooms £1,348 / £1,298; 10 rooms £1,542 / £1,492).

    Who needs one
    Any property occupied by five or more people living as more than one household, including flats above or below a business, a purpose-built flat in a building of up to two self-contained flats, converted buildings, and an owner-occupied home with three or more tenants and five or more occupiers in total (council 'Do I need a HMO licence?' page).
    Exemptions
    The council page lists purpose-built flats in a building of three or more self-contained flats, section 257 converted blocks, an owner renting to at most two occupiers with fewer than five in total, adult placement care arrangements, properties of official bodies (council, registered social landlords, NHS, police, co-operatives), student accommodation under an approved code, and religious communities, referring to Schedule 14 of the Housing Act 2004.
    Apply on the council’s websiteLicence conditions
    How we checked this

    A provisional licence with conditions is issued after inspection and a full licence can be granted 14 days later; it 'will be valid for up to five years' and is not transferable. The issuing fee is refunded if a licence is refused. A public register of licensed HMOs is published. Operating an unlicensed licensable HMO is an offence that can lead to conviction and an unlimited financial penalty.

    Sources

Article 4 for house shares

Not yet confirmed

Whether Horsham has an Article 4 direction on house shares.

Council source

Civil penalty policy

The council's policy sets how it decides the size of a fine. The version we found has not been updated for the Renters' Rights Act.

Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy (web page), amended and adopted by Cabinet on 19 March 2025 (minute EX/107) to make the civil penalty section 'clearer, simpler to use and less likely to result in an appeal' in preparation for the Renters' Rights Bill. The policy still states a maximum of £30,000 per offence and sets out the charging system in its Appendix 2. Failure to license a mandatory HMO (s.72(1)) is treated as 'Very Serious', starting level £17,500: £12,500 for a landlord with one HMO and at most one other dwelling, rising to £22,500 for a large portfolio, then adjusted for aggravating or mitigating factors. No revision for the Renters' Rights Act 2025 maxima was found; the council's Renters' Rights Act page (September 2026 update) gives guidance only.

Horsham's civil penalty policy

Consultations

We found no consultations when we researched Horsham.

Not yet confirmed

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

  • Not yet confirmed

    No selective or additional licensing scheme, proposal or consultation was found on the council's HMO and environmental health pages or in the committee document search (horsham.moderngov.co.uk: 'selective licensing' returns only the 2017 Housing and Planning Act implementation report; 'houses in multiple occupation' only fee and minutes items). Absence is inferred, not stated by the council.

  • Not yet confirmed

    Whether the enforcement policy will be revised for the Renters' Rights Act 2025 £40,000 maximum.

  • Not yet confirmed

    HMO fee year is not stated.

  • Not yet confirmed

    Article 4: whether Horsham has an HMO (C3 to C4) Article 4 direction is not confirmed. Checked: planning.data.gov.uk (53 Horsham direction areas, none for HMOs), the council's HMO pages and a committee document search; the council's own Article 4 list was not read. None was found, but absence is inferred, not stated by the council; confirm with its planning team.

Landlord register

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Horsham 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