# Licensing in Torbay > Torbay 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 West - ONS code: E06000027 - Web page: https://lettance.com/councils/torbay - API: https://lettance.com/api/v1/councils/torbay ## Licensing schemes ### Mandatory HMO licence: Mandatory HMO licensing - Status: In force (`in_force`) - Area: Whole Torbay Council area, including Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. This does not include neighbouring Devon districts. - Fee: Published standard fee: £2,007. The live application page and 2026/27 fee schedule give a standard new-application fee of £2,007: £485 processing fee on application and £1,522 administration/compliance fee after approval. Enforced new application £2,859 (£485 plus £2,374). Timely renewal £1,709 (£428 plus £1,281); enforced renewal £2,054 (£428 plus £1,626). The processing fee is non-refundable if unsuccessful or withdrawn; the application page also says unused fees are refunded if a licence is refused, so confirm the applicable refund. Pay together or in two parts; the council says the application is complete and final licence issued only after full payment. No accreditation discount or per-room supplement is stated on the current pages. - Licence length: 5 years - Who needs one: HMOs occupied by five or more people forming two or more households who share basic amenities, regardless of the number of storeys, subject to statutory exclusions. - Exemptions: Statutory exclusions and temporary exemptions may apply. Ask the council to assess an unusual building, converted flat or exemption before assuming a licence is unnecessary. - Apply: https://www.torbay.gov.uk/housing/hmo-landlords/apply-for-an-hmo-licence/ - Confidence: High - How we checked this: A licence is valid for up to five years and each property requires its own licence. Renewal is available where the existing mandatory licence remains in force, the holder is unchanged and the licence type is unchanged. Late renewal may attract an enforced fee. The council requests gas safety evidence where applicable, an EICR, detailed floor plans, appliance testing and fire-alarm/emergency-lighting certificates. Missing application documents must be supplied within eight weeks. Planning permission is separate. The application page broadly refers to HMOs needing a licence, but the council’s definition page separately identifies the mandatory five-person threshold; it is not evidence that all three-person HMOs are licensable. The current council quick-check page explicitly says a bungalow shared by two couples is not licensable because it has only four occupants, and that individual self-contained flats are in scope only at five or more people from two or more households, subject to exclusions. No current additional or selective designation, approved future designation, defined live licensing consultation or scheme ending in the last twelve months was established in targeted council and committee searches. The current conditions actually attached to an issued licence should be checked; the published general amenity standards are not a substitute for the individual conditions. - Sources: https://www.torbay.gov.uk/housing/hmo-landlords/, https://www.torbay.gov.uk/housing/hmo-landlords/what-is-an-hmo/, https://www.torbay.gov.uk/housing/hmo-landlords/apply-for-an-hmo-licence/, https://www.torbay.gov.uk/housing/hmo-landlords/renew-an-hmo-licence/, https://www.torbay.gov.uk/media/m12ph0lw/fees-and-charges-2026-27-final-4.pdf, https://www.torbay.gov.uk/housing/hmo-landlords/our-standards-for-houses-in-multiple-occupation/, https://www.torbay.gov.uk/housing/hmo-landlords/quickly-check-if-your-property-is-an-hmo/ ## Article 4 for house shares Not yet confirmed: whether Torbay has an Article 4 direction on house shares. Council source: https://www.torbay.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/apply-for-planning-permission/find-planning-considerations/mhclg-data/ ## 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. The council’s current civil-penalty landing page links its 2026 policy. The actual linked policy contains the Renters’ Rights Act offences, £7,000 and £40,000 tiers, landlord-type and aggravating/mitigating adjustments, and a 15% discount for full payment within the final-notice period, normally 28 days. An appeal does not extend the discount window. Its illustration uses a £17,000 unlicensed-HMO starting point before case-specific adjustments. The related Housing Standards Enforcement Policy is marked updated June 2026 and includes new RRA duties. Older general HMO pages still quote £30,000 and should not be used as the current statutory ceiling. The exact formal adoption/commencement decision for the 2026 version was not established; check the version and offence date before applying it. Policy: https://www.torbay.gov.uk/council/policies/community-safety/civil-penalty-policy/civil-penalty-policy-2026/ ## Consultations We found no consultations when we researched Torbay. ## Not yet confirmed We could not settle these points when we researched Torbay on 15 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them. - Obtain express current confirmation of any additional or selective licensing designation or formally approved successor. The current mandatory presentation and negative searches are not definitive proof that no later order exists. - Confirm any operative HMO Article 4 direction after the unimplemented 2012 notice and the 2017 preparatory decision; the published conservation-direction dataset does not establish definitive absence. - Obtain the full current conditions issued to the property and confirm any changes since the 2025 HMO conditions review. - Confirm when an enforced fee applies and reconcile the processing-fee non-refund wording with the refused-application unused-fee refund wording. - Obtain the formal adoption and operative date of the published 2026 civil-penalty policy and any subsequent delegated amendments. ## Landlord register The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Torbay 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: https://lettance.com/register --- From Lettance: https://lettance.com/councils/torbay (catalogue edition 15 October 2026). This is information, not legal advice. Check the linked sources, and the council's own pages, before you act.