# Licensing in Milton Keynes > Milton Keynes has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force. - Checked 15 Oct 2026 (researched_at 2026-10-15, verified_at 2026-10-15) - Region: South East - ONS code: E06000042 - Web page: https://lettance.com/councils/milton-keynes - API: https://lettance.com/api/v1/councils/milton-keynes ## Licensing schemes ### Mandatory HMO licence: Mandatory HMO licensing - Status: In force (`in_force`) - Area: Whole Milton Keynes City Council administrative area. - Fee: Published standard fee: £730. Current HMO page and Fees & Charges Policy version 2 dated 1 April 2026 agree: new and renewal £730 (£485 Part 1 on application + £245 Part 2 on approval), no fee for variation. Part 1 covers processing, Part 2 mandatory inspection/enforcement. No accreditation/early discount or room supplement found. Policy provides specified error/non-licensability refunds, not a general unused-term refund; check exact circumstances. Older £344 references in legacy material are not used. - Licence length: 5 years - Who needs one: HMOs occupied by five or more people in two or more households who share bathroom, kitchen or other basic facilities, subject to the prescribed description and statutory exemptions. Current HMO Licensing Policy expressly says only mandatory licensing operates. - Exemptions: Qualifying buildings excluded by Schedule 14 (public bodies, regulated accommodation, qualifying educational/religious communities, owner occupation and two-person cases). Policy says ordinary three/four-person HMOs and section 257 converted blocks do not currently require a licence. A written request for a temporary exemption may be considered where steps will remove licensability within three months; statutory eligibility must be checked. - Apply: https://mycouncil.milton-keynes.gov.uk/service/HMO_Licence_Application - Licence conditions: https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-10/HMO%20Licensing%20Policy.pdf - Confidence: High - How we checked this: HMO Licensing Policy adopted at delegated decision 21 October 2025 (document version 1 dated 4 July 2025). It expressly states no additional or selective schemes and covers applications, conditions, fit-and-proper test and exemptions. Normal licence five years, shorter in exceptional circumstances; non-transferable. Renewal application should be submitted two months before expiry. Floor plan, safety certificates, furniture/fit-and-proper declarations and management details required. Overseas landlord may appoint UK manager consenting to be bound by licence terms, or UK holder, subject to satisfactory structures and signed agreement. Current policy conditions summary/amenity standards are linked; property-specific issued conditions govern. Broadened current council/committee searches found no later discretionary designation, active consultation or optional scheme ending since 15 October 2025. The historical 2014 additional/selective consultation is not treated as a current proposal. - Sources: https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/housing/private-sector-housing/houses-multiple-occupation-hmo, https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-10/HMO%20Licensing%20Policy.pdf, https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-04/PSH%20Fees%20and%20Charges%20Policy%20v2.pdf, https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/housing/housing-strategies-policies-plans-and-reports, https://milton-keynes.moderngov.co.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=12973&Opt=3, https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-04/HMO%20Licensing%20Application%20Guidance%20Notes.pdf, https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-04/HMO%20Amenity%20Standards%20.pdf ## Article 4 for house shares Milton Keynes has an Article 4 direction on HMOs (shared houses). Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission. - Area: Whole borough/current administrative area is subject to C3-to-C4 HMO planning control from 23 December 2011, confirmed by current Article 4 index and separate HMO planning guidance. Earlier immediate direction started 30 December 2010 across the borough except then Hanslope, Olney, Sherington and Danesborough wards and was made permanent 28 June 2011; those historical exclusions are not current exclusions after the second whole-borough direction. Second order made 22 December 2010 and operative date 23 December 2011 visually read on sealed document: https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-07/Article%204%20Direction%20Non-Immediate%20-%20Redacted.pdf . Current index separately lists office-conversion and conservation directions; these are not confused with the HMO order. - Takes effect: 23 December 2011 Council source: https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/article-4-directions-milton-keynes ## 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. Current housing-policy index links Civil Penalty Policy version 2.2 dated 21 July 2026, titled under Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and other housing legislation. Version history: original adopted 21 October 2025; v2.0 amended 1 May 2026 for RRA, v2.1 amended 24 June for Housing Act 2004 section 6A, v2.2 added enforcement-power delegation appendix. £7000/£40000 tiers; HMO failure-to-license starting point £17000 (£13600/£20400 landlord-type adjustments), selective £12000 matrix entry is a general power not an active local selective scheme. 15% prompt full-payment reduction within notice period; no extra licence fee discount inferred. Current index also links enforcement policy v1 dated 1 September 2026. The old October 2025 penalty PDF remains accessible but is superseded by this currently linked version. Precise committee approval for subsequent delegated amendments not located; version history/published policy are confirmed. Policy: https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-07/Civil%20Penalty%20Policy%20v2.2.pdf ## Consultations We found no consultations when we researched Milton Keynes. ## Not yet confirmed We could not settle these points when we researched Milton Keynes on 15 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them. - Monitor for later discretionary designation or consultation: adopted 2025 HMO policy expressly says no additional/selective schemes, and current targeted council/committee searches found no later instrument. Historical 2014 consultation is not evidence of a current scheme. - Obtain any standalone full current licence-condition template and reconcile with the property-specific issued licence. The current adopted HMO licensing policy describes conditions and links current amenity standards; older application forms should not override current fees. - Confirm exact approval/effective records for the 2026 penalty-policy amendments if needed. Current published version history explicitly dates RRA update 1 May 2026, section 6A addition 24 June and delegation appendix 21 July; no separate unverified decision date inferred. - Check individual building exemptions and current planning permission separately; current whole-area HMO Article 4 applies despite historical 2010 excluded ward names. No licence itself grants planning permission. ## Landlord register The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Milton Keynes 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/milton-keynes (catalogue edition 15 October 2026). This is information, not legal advice. Check the linked sources, and the council's own pages, before you act.