# Licensing in Surrey Heath

> Surrey Heath has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.

- Checked 26 Oct 2026 (researched_at 2026-10-26, verified_at 2026-10-26)
- Region: South East
- ONS code: E07000214
- Web page: https://lettance.com/councils/surrey-heath
- API: https://lettance.com/api/v1/councils/surrey-heath

## Licensing schemes

### Mandatory HMO licence: Mandatory HMO licensing (national scheme, Surrey Heath fees)

- Status: In force (`in_force`)
- Area: Whole Surrey Heath Borough Council area (national scheme).
- Fee: Published standard fee: £896.20. Council HMO licence page: £896.20, or £773.70 for members of any nationally recognised landlord accreditation scheme or association. No page date shown. The GOV.UK application listing for Surrey Heath shows different (older) figures and should not be relied on.
- Licence length: 5 years
- Who needs one: 'All properties let to five or more people, who form two or more households should have a HMO Licence.'
- Apply: https://www.surreyheath.gov.uk/node/207
- Confidence: High
- How we checked this: The page says the licence 'will be valid for five years and must be renewed before it runs out'; each HMO needs its own licence. Applications are made through online forms for new licences and relicensing, with a checklist of documents (fire risk assessment, gas and electrical certificates, fit and proper person information). The page covers mandatory licensing only.
- Sources: https://www.surreyheath.gov.uk/node/207, https://www.surreyheath.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-04/HMO%20Information%20Sheet.pdf

## Article 4 for house shares

Not yet confirmed: whether Surrey Heath has an Article 4 direction on house shares.

Council source: https://www.surreyheath.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/trees/conservation

## 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.

Executive decision of 21 April 2026 (https://surreyheath.moderngov.co.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?AIId=22379): 'the updated Surrey Heath Housing Standards Enforcement Policy and Housing Civil Penalty Policy attached at Annex A and Annex B are approved to take effect from 1st May 2026', with decisions under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 delegated to the Director of Built Environment and Regulation and the Director of Housing, Community and Recreation. The Housing Civil Penalty Policy (Annex B) sets £7,000 and £40,000 maxima; failure to obtain an HMO licence (s.72(1)) starts at £17,000 (£13,600 / £17,000 / £20,400 by landlord type), and failure to obtain a selective licence (s.95) is also covered; licence-condition breaches use council-set starting levels. A 15% discount applies for full payment within the final-notice period.

Policy: https://surreyheath.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s41716/6b.%20Renters%20Rights%20Act%20Annex%20B.pdf

## Consultations

We found no consultations when we researched Surrey Heath.

## Not yet confirmed

We could not settle these points when we researched Surrey Heath on 26 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

- No selective or additional licensing scheme, proposal or consultation was found: the council's HMO page covers mandatory licensing only and does not state the absence; committee-document searches (surreyheath.moderngov.co.uk) for "selective licensing" return nothing and "additional licensing" only a 2006 Executive item.
- Absence of an HMO Article 4 direction is inferred: the conservation page does not mention Article 4 directions, planning.data.gov.uk holds no Surrey Heath records, and a committee-document search for "article 4" returns no results (the index may be incomplete). No council list of Article 4 directions was found.
- The HMO page shows no date; confirm the current fee with the council.
- Surrey local government reorganisation: Mole Valley's published notice says two unitary councils, East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council, 'will replace the existing 12 councils in April 2027' (https://www.molevalley.gov.uk/privacy-notice-local-government-reorganisation/); this council falls in West Surrey. HMO licensing will then be run by the new council; check its fees and any new schemes after that date.

## Landlord register

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Surrey Heath 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

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From Lettance: https://lettance.com/councils/surrey-heath (catalogue edition 31 October 2026). This is information, not legal advice. Check the linked sources, and the council's own pages, before you act.