HMO licensing in Cornwall

Cornwall 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.

The published fee for a new HMO licence is £1,481.04, and £1,110.77 to renew. Fees can depend on the number of occupants or lettings, and they are reviewed each year.

Current fee (effective from 1 April 2025) is split into two parts: Part 1, the licence processing fee, paid on submission; Part 2, the administration and compliance fee, paid before the licence is issued. Discounts: 5% reduction for members of the Cornwall Responsible Landlord Scheme, and 2.5% reduction for members of a recognised landlord association (proof of membership required; no reduction for already-unlicensed properties). Cornwall Council's own application page states as of September 2026: 'Please note - the HMO licence fee will be changing from 01 October 2026. Please contact us for further information' - no replacement figures are published on that page. A separate 2026 consultation ('Review of Mandatory HMO Licence Fees', Let's Talk Cornwall) proposed replacing the flat fee with a structure banded by number of lettable rooms (proposed new-licence fees: 5 rooms £1,957, 6-8 rooms £2,062, 9-10+ rooms £2,167; proposed renewals: 5 rooms £1,859, 6-8 rooms £1,964, 9-10+ rooms £2,069, plus a flat £50 discount for accredited landlords) and consultation closed 17 July 2026, but the council has not published a confirmed adopted fee table for post-1-October-2026 applications, so those banded figures are NOT used as totalGbp/renewalGbp here - only the currently-in-force flat fee is recorded.

Check the current fee on the council website (cornwall.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.

• Mandatory HMO licence condition: the licence holder must install and maintain smoke alarms in working order throughout the property, and on request must supply Cornwall Council with a written declaration confirming the alarms are in proper working order (Cornwall Council, 'Duties of a HMO licence holder').
• Mandatory HMO licence condition: the licence holder must supply Cornwall Council with a current landlord gas safety certificate every year (Cornwall Council, 'Duties of a HMO licence holder').
• Cornwall Council's Fire and Rescue Service directs private-sector landlords, including HMO landlords, to the LACORS Housing Fire Safety Guide for detailed fire risk assessment and fire precaution standards; the statutory domestic Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 duties (smoke alarm on every floor, CO alarm in rooms with solid-fuel appliances) explicitly do not apply to HMOs because HMOs are already covered by separate, property-specific fire safety conditions set through the licence (Cornwall Council, Fire and Rescue Service, 'Private landlords' page).
• No Cornwall-specific published detail on fire door ratings, interlinked alarm grades, or escape-route standards was found on the council's own site beyond the licence conditions above; do not assume detector grade or fire-door specification without checking the individual licence conditions issued for a given property.

• Kitchen floor area: at least 7 m² for up to 5 occupants sharing; at least 10.5 m² for 6-10 occupants (Cornwall Council, HMO amenity standard).
• Kitchen equipment: up to 5 occupants - 1 sink, 4-ring hob, 1 oven, 1 fridge + 1 freezer. 6-7 occupants - double sink, 4-ring hob, 1 oven, 2 fridges + 1 freezer. 8-9 occupants - 2 sinks, 8 rings (dual hobs), 2 ovens, 2-3 fridges + 2 freezers (Cornwall Council, HMO amenity standard).
• Bathroom/WC provision: 1-4 occupants - 1 bathroom (bath or shower, toilet, wash basin). 5 occupants - 1 bathroom plus at least 1 separate toilet. 6-10 occupants - 2 bathrooms and 2 separate toilets. 11-15 occupants - 3 bathrooms and 3 separate toilets (Cornwall Council, HMO amenity standard).
• Living room floor area (Class A shared houses only): 10 m² for 1-5 occupants; 15 m² for 6-10 occupants; 15 m² plus an additional 1 m² per person for 11+ occupants (Cornwall Council, HMO amenity standard).
• Kitchens should be located no more than one floor away from the bedrooms they serve; where this is not practical, a suitably sized dining/living room near the bedrooms must be provided instead (Cornwall Council, HMO amenity standard).

• Completed HMO application form — Cornwall Council's own application form, submitted with the relevant fee.
• DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check — Dated no more than 1 month before submission for a first application; up to 1 year old for subsequent applications by a landlord/agent who already holds other licensed HMOs in Cornwall. If the applicant is a company, each director must submit their own DBS check.
• Landlord Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) — Current certificate required where the property has gas appliances ('if applicable').
• Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) — Must be current; Cornwall Council's page does not state a specific validity period on the application-documents page itself.
• Floor plan — Showing every room labelled by use (bedroom, kitchen, etc.) with the dimensions of each room.
• Application fee — Part 1 (processing fee) payable on submission; Part 2 (administration and compliance fee) payable before the licence is issued.

• cornwall.gov.uk
• cornwall.gov.uk
• cornwall.gov.uk
• cornwall.gov.uk
• cornwall.gov.uk
• cornwall.gov.uk
• letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk

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