Licensing in North Somerset

• Mandatory HMO licence

  In force

  Mandatory HMO licensing

  Area

  Whole North Somerset Council district, not the neighbouring Somerset or Bristol council areas.

  Fee

  Published standard fee: £752.10

  Current 2026/27 fees: £752.10 for up to five units of accommodation, plus £67.75 for each additional unit. Separate fit-and-proper assessment £45.05 per person. Discounted mandatory tariff £599.50 for up to five units, plus £54.55 each additional unit, with a £45 assessment per person. The landlord page says membership of a West of England Rental Standard approved organisation may qualify; confirm eligibility before paying. Units of accommodation must not be replaced with a count of residents. Cost recovery for incomplete licensing works, including third and subsequent visits, £49.80 per hour. No application/grant split or separate renewal tariff is stated in this schedule.

  Who needs one

  HMOs with five or more people from two or more households sharing facilities, regardless of storeys, subject to statutory exclusions. The council also describes qualifying partly converted accommodation containing at least one unit that is not self-contained.

  Exemptions

  Statutory HMO exclusions apply. The council asks landlords to contact Private Rented Housing where the building or exemption position is unclear.

  Apply on the council’s websiteLicence conditions
  ›How we checked this

  A licence can last up to five years; the issued licence controls occupancy and term. The council requests EICR, gas and EPC certificates and appropriate fire-alarm and emergency-lighting certificates; a fit-and-proper application may also be required. The GOV.UK application link on the council page currently redirects to the general licence finder, so contact the council for its application form if necessary. Consultation with the applicant and relevant parties takes place before proposed conditions are finalised. The signed May 2026 decision approved replacement HMO conditions alongside enforcement policies. Those conditions include supplying the licence to existing occupiers within 14 days of issue and to new occupiers before occupation, annual gas and appliance checks, continuing EICR evidence, alarm testing and occupancy limits. Apply the actual conditions on the issued licence. The general HMO page still links an older conditions PDF and quotes older penalty/rent-repayment limits; the separately approved 2026 documents must be checked. No current additional or selective designation, formally approved future designation, defined live licensing consultation or scheme ending in the last twelve months was established by targeted council and committee searches. A selective designation for parts of the old Central and Hillside wards of Weston-super-Mare was revoked in September 2016 before its planned November commencement; a 2019 council report describes the later targeted Area Action approach rather than an operative selective scheme. The Cabinet Member’s written response dated 11 March 2026 says an immediate selective scheme was difficult to justify financially, while retaining an intention to bring one forward. That statement supplies no adopted boundary, commencement or licence fee and is not treated as a current scheme.

  Sources

  • n-somerset.gov.uk: houses multiple occupation hmo licensing
  • n-somerset.gov.uk: fees charges
  • n-somerset.gov.uk: 33196 Fees and Charges 2026 to 2027 (PDF)
  • n-somerset.gov.uk: 26 27 ASSH065 signed (PDF)
  • n-somerset.gov.uk: 26 27 ASSH065 HMO licence conditions (PDF)
  • n-somerset.gov.uk: HMO licensing standards 1 (PDF)
  • gov.uk: house in multiple occupation licence
  • n-somerset.moderngov.co.uk: Note to minutes of Council meeting 24 February 2026 v1.1 (PDF)
  • n-somerset.moderngov.co.uk: 10 Private Rented Sector Conditions Update (PDF)
  • n-somerset.gov.uk: 0916 revocation of an area for selective licensing under Section 844 of the Housing Act 2004 (PDF)

Council source

North Somerset's civil penalty policy

We found no consultations when we researched North Somerset.

We could not settle these points when we researched North Somerset on 15 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

• Not yet confirmed

  Confirm any subsequent formal additional/selective licensing proposal or consultation. The March 2026 political intention has no approved boundary or commencement and is not an operative designation.

• Not yet confirmed

  Obtain current express confirmation of any HMO-specific Article 4 direction. The published conservation/land-control directory does not establish one, but does not prove definitive absence.

• Not yet confirmed

  Confirm the start date and renewal treatment of the 2026/27 HMO tariff, the number of chargeable accommodation units and fit-and-proper assessments, and eligibility for the discounted tariff.

• Not yet confirmed

  Confirm the conditions actually issued to the property and whether older licences have been varied to the approved 2026 version. The general HMO page still links older conditions.

• Not yet confirmed

  Check case-specific enforcement transition and any delegated amendment after the signed 12 May 2026 decision, which describes effect from 1 May and temporary parallel legacy policies.

• Not yet confirmed

  The historical 2016 revocation notice text was retrieved through web search, while direct download returned 404; the independently fetched 2019 council report confirms the revocation and Area Action replacement. Obtain an accessible archived notice if its exact historical wording is needed.

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. North Somerset is in South West, where registration is planned from 15 August 2027 to 14 November 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Read about the register