HMO licensing in Bromsgrove

Bromsgrove District Council operates the national mandatory scheme. We found no additional or selective licensing scheme in force or proposed as of September 2026. Councils can introduce one after a public consultation, so it is worth setting an alert.

Bromsgrove District Council does not publish a single figure we could confirm. Fees are set by the council and reviewed each year, so check its fees page.

Bromsgrove charges £156.80 per person for a mandatory HMO licence, covering both new applications and renewals; the licence is issued for up to 5 years. The fee scales with the number of persons the licence permits (for example, a 5-person HMO totals £784.00, a 6-person HMO £940.80) rather than being a flat sum, so no single whole-licence total applies across all HMOs. No accredited-landlord discount, instalment option or variation fee is published. Redditch Borough Council, which shares the Private Sector Housing service with Bromsgrove, publishes a different per-person rate on its own equivalent page.

Check the current fee on the council website (bromsgrove.gov.uk) before you apply.

National minimums for licensed HMOs are 6.51 m² for one adult and 10.22 m² for two adults; councils can apply higher local standards.

• 3- and 4-storey shared houses: protected escape route created by half-hour fire-resisting self-closing doors to all risk rooms opening onto the communal escape route.
• 3- and 4-storey shared houses: automatic fire detection and warning to BS 5839-6:2004 Grade A, category LD2 (smoke detectors in each bedroom, communal living room, hall, landings, walk-in cupboards/cellars; heat detector in each shared kitchen; linked to a control panel). An existing system without a panel but with equivalent coverage may be retained if maintained with an annual test certificate.
• 2-storey properties: same protected route and emergency lighting as a 3-storey house, but the interlinked detection system may be BS 5839-6 Grade D LD2 (no control panel or fire-resistant cabling required).
• Emergency lighting to the communal escape route to BS 5266.
• A fire blanket in each shared kitchen.
• Bedsit-type HMOs: smoke detection in the unit plus heat detection in cooking areas; older systems lacking single-point smoke alarms are to be upgraded through licence conditions with a reasonable compliance period.
• Councils' guide points to the LACORS fire safety guidance for housing (Bromsgrove page links to LACORS fire safety guidance and GOV.UK fire risk assessment support); a fire risk assessment is required under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
• Note: the amenity standards document cites the 2004 edition of BS 5839-6 and older West Midlands 'Homestamp' guidance; confirm current expectations (e.g. BS 5839-6:2019) with the Private Sector Housing team.

• Shared bathrooms: at least one bath or shower per 5 persons sharing (a shower over a bath does not count as an extra shower); bathrooms accessible from a communal area and ideally no more than one floor (max. two floors in terraces with rear extensions) from any bedroom; wash hand basin with hot and cold water and tiled splashback in every bathroom/WC compartment; fixed heating in all bathrooms.
• Shared WCs: at least one WC per 5 persons where the WC is separate from the bathroom, or one WC per 4 persons where the WC is inside the bathroom (council's combination table gives 1-2 full suites/baths plus separate WCs as occupancy rises).
• Shared kitchen cooking: for every 5 persons one conventional cooker with at least 4 hobs, oven and grill; a 20-litre microwave may replace a second cooker for up to 7 persons; 8-10 persons need at least 2 cookers and 11-15 at least 3.
• Shared kitchen sinks: one sink with hot and cold water per 5 persons; a double-bowl sink and drainer (or standard sink plus dishwasher) is acceptable up to 7 persons; 8-10 persons need at least 2 sinks, 11-15 at least 3.
• Food preparation: 0.5 m run of fixed worktop per user (up to 20% shortfall tolerated); at least 2 twin switched sockets per 5 persons (in addition to appliance sockets).
• Food storage: a 100-litre refrigerator with 15-litre freezer compartment per 3 persons, or one tall fridge-freezer per 5 persons; a half base unit or single wall unit of dry storage per person.
• A shared kitchen should be no more than one floor from the units it serves (two floors if a communal dining room adjoins or the kitchen is large enough to serve as kitchen/dining room).
• Bedsit units: exclusive kitchen facilities (2-ring cooker with oven and grill for one person, 4 rings for two), sink and drainer, and wash hand basin in each unit; bath or shower on a 1:5 ratio.

• Completed HMO licence application form — Bromsgrove's HMO page links to a form titled 'Application for variation of HMO licence' as the application download; the page says completed forms can be posted or emailed to the Private Sector Housing team. Confirm with the team which form is correct for a new application, as the linked file appears to be a variation form.
• Applicant, manager and controller details — Per the council's HMO privacy notice, the application collects details of the proposed licence holder, the person managing, the person having control, any person bound by licence conditions, and the property address, including contact details.
• Fit-and-proper-person declarations — Per the council's privacy notice: details of unspent relevant convictions, any tribunal/court finding of unlawful discrimination, and any housing/public health/landlord and tenant law contraventions leading to proceedings, for the licence holder and manager.
• Licence fee payment — Paid via the council's online payment page (select 'Licensing' then 'HMOs', with the first line of the HMO address as reference). £156.80 per person per the council page - see fee notes.
• Gas safety certificate — STATUTORY licence-condition requirement (Housing Act 2004 Sch 4), not an item on a Bromsgrove-published checklist: valid annual gas safety certificate where gas is supplied.
• Electrical installation condition report (EICR) — STATUTORY requirement (Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020): report at least every 5 years; the council may ask for it as part of licensing. Not listed on Bromsgrove's checklist.
• Fire alarm / emergency lighting test certificates and fire risk assessment — Evidence supporting the fire standards above (e.g. annual alarm test certificate for retained older systems, per the amenity standards guide). No published Bromsgrove checklist item; supply on request.

• bromsgrove.gov.uk
• bromsgrove.gov.uk
• bromsgrove.gov.uk
• bromsgrove.gov.uk
• redditchbc.gov.uk

Compiled from the council’s own published pages and documents; data reviewed September 2026. Rules and fees change, so always confirm with Bromsgrove District Council before applying. This is general information, not legal advice.