Licensing in Portsmouth

• Additional HMO licence

  In force

  Portsmouth additional HMO licensing 2023–2028 — section 254 HMOs

  Area

  Whole Portsmouth City Council administrative district, as the additional designation paragraph 4 and Appendix A specify. Includes Portsea Island and the council mainland area; not neighbouring Havant, Gosport or all PO postcodes.

  Runs

  1 September 2023 to 30 August 2028

  Fee

  Published standard fee: £886

  Current additional fee page updated1 April2026 and corrected2026/27 appendix: new five-year £886=£222 application+£664 issue; new2.5-year £917=£222+£695; newone-year £1229=£222+£1007. Renewal five-year £845=£145+£700; renewal2.5-year £740=£145+£595; renewalone-year £709=£145+£564. Part2 duewithin14days of notice of intention to grant. Accreditation/complete compliance is required for five-year category; no separate early-bird amount or percentage discount stated. No issue-fee on refusal; after issue ordinarily nonrefundable; duplicate/exempt/nonlicensable exceptions per current refund page. Applies new received/renewal expiry from1 April2026 per corrected10 Marchdecision.

  Who needs one

  Section254 HMOs with three or more people in two or more households not requiring mandatory licensing: ordinary three/four-person shared houses and bedsits sharing amenities, relevant converted buildings, and three-or-more-person HMOs in purpose-built self-contained flats within blocks of three or more self-contained flats. Main-residence and statutory HMO tests apply. Section257 converted blocks have separate row/building eligibility and charges.

  Exemptions

  Designation paragraph5 excludes AppendixC/Schedule14 buildings, interim/final management orders, temporary exemption under section62 and HMOs requiring mandatory Part2 licensing. AppendixC contains qualified public/social bodies, co-operatives, regulated/student/religious/owner-occupied buildings and two-person buildings; section257 exceptions to some exclusions are explicit.

  Apply on the council’s websiteLicence conditionsCouncil's map or designation
  ›How we checked this

  Designation made 22 November 2022, operative 1 September 2023. Paragraph 3 literally says it shall cease to have effect on 31 August 2028; the last day shown here is 30 August 2028, based on that exact wording. This produces a day less than a conventional five-year anniversary summary: confirm exact final day with council rather than silently treating 31 August as inclusive. Appendix B amended/re-published 26 June 2023, as stated in the current August 2024 accessible copy; file-upload date is not a new designation start. This and the section 257 row describe different property classes/fees under the same legal designation, not separate overlapping designations. Licences can be one, two-and-a-half or five years, depending on compliance, complaints, timely application, safety certificates, planning status and accreditation. Five-year eligibility requires all ordinary compliance criteria, no justified complaint in preceding 12 months, recognised accreditation, EPC E or above unless exempt (even where EPC not otherwise legally required), and timely renewal at least 14 days before expiry. Shorter one-year licence where required documents, FRA, planning evidence or compliance are missing; this is not permission to ignore other legal duties. Late renewal after expiry is treated/charged as new application. Conditions include annual certificate submissions within two weeks of licence anniversary. Actual issued licence conditions take precedence. No blanket property_eligibility_check is needed for ordinary small shared HMOs: geography is whole-city and ordinary3/4-person category is expressly covered. No current selective designation, additional successor or active housing-licensing consultation was established by targeted council/committee searches. Historical2022 additional consultation preceded this operative designation; old2013–2018 scheme is not current/recently expired.

  Sources

  • portsmouth.gov.uk: additional hmo licence
  • portsmouth.gov.uk: additional licensing hmo august 2024 accessible (PDF)
  • portsmouth.gov.uk: additional licensing fees
  • portsmouth.gov.uk: additional and mandatory licence conditions
  • portsmouth.moderngov.co.uk: ieListDocuments
  • portsmouth.moderngov.co.uk: Appendix 1 PSH Fees HMO Licensing Fees 2026 27 10 03 26 2 (PDF)
  • portsmouth.gov.uk: private sector housing enforcement policy

• Additional HMO licence

  In forceMedium confidence

  Portsmouth additional HMO licensing 2023–2028 — section 257 converted blocks

  Area

  Whole Portsmouth City Council administrative district, as the additional designation paragraph 4 and Appendix A specify. Includes Portsea Island and the council mainland area; not neighbouring Havant, Gosport or all PO postcodes.

  Runs

  1 September 2023 to 30 August 2028

  Fee

  Published standard fee: £886

  £886 is newfive-year block base £222+£664, before £74per qualifying dwelling under licence-holder control. Supplement applies regardless dwelling occupancy, excluding dwellings independently subject to mandatory/additional licensing; it does not itself give a dwelling an HMO licence. One chargeable dwelling:newfive-year £960, new2.5-year £991, newone-year £1303; renewal five-year £919, renewal2.5-year £814, renewalone-year £783. Base categories match ordinary additional £917/£1229 newshorter and £845/£740/£709 renew. Main fee table says five-yearrenewalpart2 £700, but live two-dwelling worked-example mistakenly prints £595 while total£993 implies£700 (£145+£700+£148); corrected March councilappendix prints£700 and£993. Use confirmed base not erroneous single example. April2026 rates; part2 due14days; no early-bird rate. Property-specific dwelling count/fee must be confirmed.

  Who needs one

  Qualifying buildings/parts converted entirely into self-contained flats, not complying with relevant building regulations and within the designation section257 tenancy qualification. Current operational page/guide says at least two-thirds flats tenanted; designation AppendixB says mainly or wholly tenanted, including resident landlords. Exact statutory/designation applicability needs building-level assessment. The licence is for the block, not automatically each individual flat.

  Exemptions

  Designation paragraph5/AppendixC statutory exclusions, management orders and temporary exemptions apply. Current operational page says no licence where whole building occupied only by two people in two separate households. Owner/religious exclusions have section257 qualifications in designation; do not apply ordinary owner-occupier exemption blindly. An individual flat requiring mandatory/additional licence needs its own application.

  Apply on the council’s websiteLicence conditionsCouncil's map or designation
  ›How we checked this

  Designation made 22 November 2022, operative 1 September 2023. Paragraph 3 literally says it shall cease to have effect on 31 August 2028; the last day shown here is 30 August 2028, based on that exact wording. This produces a day less than a conventional five-year anniversary summary: confirm exact final day with council rather than silently treating 31 August as inclusive. Appendix B amended/re-published 26 June 2023, as stated in the current August 2024 accessible copy; file-upload date is not a new designation start. This and the section 257 row describe different property classes/fees under the same legal designation, not separate overlapping designations. Current guide defines relevant building regulations as1991or later applicable rules at conversion, with continuing noncompliance. Both the guide and current page say two-thirds-or-more tenanted, whereas legal designation uses mainly/wholly tenanted; unresolved borderline cases remain explicit rather than invented threshold. Current term criteria are1/2.5/5years with accreditation/EPC/compliance; verify individual term against fixed designation expiry. Separate standard block conditions fetched. Licences can be one, two-and-a-half or five years, depending on compliance, complaints, timely application, safety certificates, planning status and accreditation. Five-year eligibility requires all ordinary compliance criteria, no justified complaint in preceding 12 months, recognised accreditation, EPC E or above unless exempt (even where EPC not otherwise legally required), and timely renewal at least 14 days before expiry. Shorter one-year licence where required documents, FRA, planning evidence or compliance are missing; this is not permission to ignore other legal duties. Late renewal after expiry is treated/charged as new application. Conditions include annual certificate submissions within two weeks of licence anniversary. Actual issued licence conditions take precedence.

  Sources

  • portsmouth.gov.uk: section 257 additional licence
  • portsmouth.gov.uk: additional licensing hmo august 2024 accessible (PDF)
  • portsmouth.gov.uk: 10.808 HMO addiitonal Licensing 257 accessible aa 2023 1 (PDF)
  • portsmouth.gov.uk: section 257 licensing fees
  • portsmouth.gov.uk: section 257 new licence conditions
  • portsmouth.moderngov.co.uk: ieListDocuments
  • portsmouth.moderngov.co.uk: Appendix 1 PSH Fees HMO Licensing Fees 2026 27 10 03 26 2 (PDF)
  • portsmouth.gov.uk: private sector housing enforcement policy

• Mandatory HMO licence

  In force

  Mandatory HMO licensing

  Area

  Whole Portsmouth City Council administrative district, as the additional designation paragraph 4 and Appendix A specify. Includes Portsea Island and the council mainland area; not neighbouring Havant, Gosport or all PO postcodes.

  Fee

  Published standard fee: £1,257

  Current fee page updated 1 April 2026 and corrected March 2026 council decision/appendix agree: new five-year licence up to five bedrooms £1257 (£314 application + £943 issue); renewal five-year £1191 (£206 + £985). New 2.5-year £1300 (£314+£986), new one-year £1743 (£314+£1429); renewal 2.5-year £1050 (£206+£844), renewal one-year £1006 (£206+£800), all up to five bedrooms. For six/seven/eight bedrooms, new five-year part2 £1004/£1063/£1124; new 2.5-year £1047/£1108/£1168; new one-year £1489/£1550/£1610; renewal five-year £1046/£1106/£1166; renewal 2.5-year £905/£966/£1026; renewal one-year £861/£921/£981, plus relevant part1. For more than eight bedrooms the published formula is (bedrooms minus5) x£60 plus relevant five-bedroom part2; preserve exact table rounding for6–8 rather than assuming uniform increments. Part1 due application; part2 within14 days of notice of intention to grant. No general early-bird amount; accreditation affects term/fee category, not an invented percentage discount. Part1 nonrefundable, part2 not due on refusal and nonrefundable after issue subject to stated duplicate/exempt/nonlicensable refund exceptions.

  Who needs one

  HMOs occupied as main residence by five or more people in two or more households sharing amenities, subject to the statutory prescribed description. Includes qualifying converted/non-purpose-built flats; an individual flat in a purpose-built block of three or more self-contained flats may instead fall under additional licensing.

  Exemptions

  Statutory prescribed-description/Schedule 14 exclusions apply, including qualifying public/social bodies, educational accommodation, religious communities and resident-owner arrangements where statutory tests met; no blanket exemption from a short summary. Check specific property.

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

  Licences can be one, two-and-a-half or five years, depending on compliance, complaints, timely application, safety certificates, planning status and accreditation. Five-year eligibility requires all ordinary compliance criteria, no justified complaint in preceding 12 months, recognised accreditation, EPC E or above unless exempt (even where EPC not otherwise legally required), and timely renewal at least 14 days before expiry. Shorter one-year licence where required documents, FRA, planning evidence or compliance are missing; this is not permission to ignore other legal duties. Late renewal after expiry is treated/charged as new application. Conditions include annual certificate submissions within two weeks of licence anniversary. Actual issued licence conditions take precedence. Council 10 March 2026 decision corrects February report whose licence-fee appendix accidentally contained 2025/26 figures; correct2026/27 rates increased3% apply new applications received on/after1 April2026 and renewals with current expiry1 April2026 or later. February enforcement-fee decision remained unchanged. Current licensing pages retain £30000 penalty prose, superseded in current enforcement page/policy; not used as current penalty ceiling.

  Sources

  • portsmouth.gov.uk: houses in multiple occupation
  • portsmouth.gov.uk: hmo mandatory licensing
  • portsmouth.gov.uk: hmo mandatory licensing fees
  • portsmouth.gov.uk: additional and mandatory licence conditions
  • portsmouth.moderngov.co.uk: ieListDocuments
  • portsmouth.moderngov.co.uk: Report for Decision PSH S257 Fees and Enforcement Charges 10 03 26 2 (PDF)
  • portsmouth.moderngov.co.uk: Appendix 1 PSH Fees HMO Licensing Fees 2026 27 10 03 26 2 (PDF)
  • portsmouth.gov.uk: private sector housing enforcement policy

Council source

Portsmouth's civil penalty policy

We found no consultations when we researched Portsmouth.

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

• Not yet confirmed

  Confirm the final designation day: paragraph 3 says cease on 31 August 2028, so the last day shown here is 30 August, based on that wording. Conventional five-year/secondary summaries use 31 August. Exact instrument wording and any later amendment must be checked before expiry, without silently adding a day.

• Not yet confirmed

  Clarify section 257 tenancy qualification: designation amended 26 June 2023 says mainly/wholly tenanted including resident landlords; live page and council illustrated guide say two-thirds-or-more flats tenanted. Keep a building-level conditional check rather than automatic exemption or match in borderline cases.

• Not yet confirmed

  Confirm section 257 chargeable-dwelling count and correct the erroneous worked example: current two-dwelling five-year renewal part 2 prints £595 but total £993 implies £700. Main base, one-dwelling example and corrected council appendix all use £700.

• Not yet confirmed

  Recover formal executive approval/adoption date for May 2026 RRA policies. The 24 March report was noted for information only; do not call it adoption. The current operational page confirms 1 May effective; historical-offence versus identified-noncompliance transition wording differs.

• Not yet confirmed

  Confirm licence periods for additional licences issued late in the scheme against fixed designation expiry; operational pages offer 1/2.5/5 years but the instrument has fixed cessation.

• Not yet confirmed

  Monitor selective/additional proposals and renewals: current fetched pages show mandatory and citywide additional (sections 254/257). Targeted current committee/consultation searches found no formal selective designation or live replacement consultation. This is search scope, not negative assurance against unpublished or later decisions.

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Portsmouth 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