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Licensing in Mid Sussex

Mid Sussex has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.

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Check an address in Mid Sussex

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 only27

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, Mid Sussex fees)

    Area

    The whole of Mid Sussex District (national scheme).

    Fee

    Published standard fee: £1,425

    Council 'HMO 2026-27 fees' schedule (linked as 'HMO licensing fees' from the HMO page, which was last updated 9 October 2026). Two parts: a pre-approval fee (cost of processing the application) and a fee to issue the licence and for compliance checks over its five-year life. Shared house: 5 persons £957 + £468 (total £1,425, used as standard_gbp); 6-10 persons £972 + £468; 11-15 persons £1,031 + £497; 16 and over £1,162 + £614. Bedsits: up to 5 units £1,074 + £557; 6-10 units £1,221 + £599; 11-15 £1,294 + £673; 16-20 £1,397 + £760; 21-30 £1,483 + £879. Hostels: up to 20 residents £811 + £381; 21-40 £987 + £556; 41-60 £1,250 + £717; 61-80 £1,484 + £936. Renewal fees: shared house 5 persons £1,133, 6-10 £1,148, 11-15 £1,207, 16+ £1,382; bedsits £1,397 to £1,952; hostels £811 to £1,675.

    Who needs one
    HMOs occupied by five persons or more, in two or more households, sharing one or more basic amenities (council HMO page).
    Apply on the council’s websiteLicence conditions
    How we checked this

    The HMO page says licences usually last five years with inspections during that time, and that applications can be made online or on the paper form. It does not mention additional or selective licensing. The page also notes a planning point: 'Planning allows a maximum of 6 persons to share a property... Anything above that will require additional permission' (the C4/sui generis threshold, not an Article 4 direction). conditions_url is the council's HMO standards guide (October 2015), not a licence conditions schedule.

    Sources

Article 4 for house shares

Not yet confirmed

Whether Mid Sussex 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 been updated for the Renters' Rights Act.

Housing Authority Enforcement Policy (policy P038), publish date June 2026, expiry June 2029, signed off by an Assistant Director. Its civil penalties section covers Renters' Rights Act 2025 breaches (£7,000 maximum) and Housing Act offences (£40,000 maximum) and follows the statutory guidance 'Civil penalties under the Renters' Rights Act'. Failure to obtain an HMO licence (s.72(1)) has a £17,000 starting point, £13,600 with the landlord-type downward adjustment and £20,400 upward. Failure to obtain a selective licence (s.95) is also listed. A 15% discount applies if the final notice is paid within 28 days. The HMO page links it as 'our enforcement policy' but still says failure to licence can bring 'a financial penalty of up to £30,000'.

Mid Sussex's civil penalty policy

Consultations

We found no consultations when we researched Mid Sussex.

Not yet confirmed

We could not settle these points when we researched Mid Sussex. 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, housing standards, landlord and Renters' Rights Act pages, and a committee-document search for 'selective licensing' returned no results ('additional licensing' returned only animal welfare and liquor licensing items). The council does not state the absence.

  • Not yet confirmed

    The council lists 28 site and conservation-area Article 4 directions (scanned PDFs), none titled as an HMO direction; confirm with planning that none removes the C3 to C4 permitted development right.

  • Not yet confirmed

    The enforcement policy does not record a committee adoption date; confirm its formal approval.

Landlord register

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Mid Sussex 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