South East
HMO licensing in Epsom and Ewell
Epsom and Ewell Borough Council requires a mandatory licence for HMOs occupied by 5 or more people from 2 or more households. No additional or selective licensing scheme is currently in force in Epsom and Ewell (checked September 2026). The published licence fee starts at £795.
Mandatory licence
5+ people, 2+ households
National scheme
Additional / selective
None in force
Mandatory licensing only
Licence fee
From £795
Decision time
Not published
Licensing schemes in Epsom and Ewell
Epsom and Ewell Borough 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.
Licence fees
The published fee for a new HMO licence is £795, and £795 to renew. Fees can depend on the number of occupants or lettings, and they are reviewed each year.
Epsom and Ewell's own 2025/26 Fees and Charges schedule (Private Sector Housing, service manager Rod Brown) lists two 'Houses of Multiple Occupation' licensing charges: 'Application up to 5 units (or lets)' at £795.00 per application or renewal (up from £747.30 in 2024/25, +6.4%), and 'Application over 5 units (or lets)' at £165.00 per unit/let (up from £151.58, +8.9%). The schedule does not distinguish a separate 'new' vs 'renewal' rate - the same figure applies to 'application or renewal' - and does not mention any accredited-landlord discount or instalment option. The licence term is confirmed on the council's HMO page as generally 5 years ('Generally speaking a licence will be granted for a 5 year term unless there are reasons not to').
Check the current fee on the council website (epsom-ewell.gov.uk) before you apply.
Minimum room sizes
| Single bedroom | National mandatory minimum: 6.51 m² for one person aged 10+ (Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/616). This national minimum is a mandatory condition on every licensable HMO licence in England, including in Epsom and Ewell, and overrides any older local figure. |
|---|---|
| Double bedroom | National mandatory minimum: 10.22 m² for two persons aged 10+ (SI 2018/616). |
| Child under 10 | National mandatory minimum: 4.64 m² (SI 2018/616); any room under 4.64 m² must not be used as sleeping accommodation. |
| Notes | Epsom and Ewell Borough Council also publishes its own 'Advisory Standards for Houses in Multiple Occupation' document, last substantively amended in 2005 and referencing mandatory HMO licensing 'from 6 April 2006' - i.e. it predates the 2018 national mandatory minimums. That older document sets its own space standards (e.g. one-person bedroom in a multi-room unit: 6.5 m²; two-person bedroom: 10 m²; one-room bedsit: 13 m² including kitchen facilities or 10 m² with a separate shared kitchen; living room 9-15 m² depending on occupancy) which are very close to, but not identical to, the current national figures. Because the 2018 Regulations impose the 6.51 m² / 10.22 m² / 4.64 m² minimums as a mandatory nationally-set licence condition, those national figures are recorded above as authoritative for current licensing purposes; the council's own older figures are noted here for context only and have not been used as the primary figures to avoid presenting superseded local guidance as the current legal minimum. |
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.
Fire safety requirements
- Epsom and Ewell's 'Advisory Standards for HMOs' document requires a fire risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, covering all parts of the premises used in common by occupants, and references LACORS Housing Fire Safety Guidance.
- For 5-6 person shared houses: 30-minute fire doors (self-closing, intumescent strips) to kitchens/cooking rooms and between each unit of accommodation and common stairs/hall/landing; a fire blanket (min. 1.1 m², to BS 6575) near the cooker; an interlinked 240V smoke alarm system (BS 5446 Part 1) covering stairs, halls, landings, communal living rooms and cellars, plus additional smoke alarms with sounders in bedrooms fitted with a fire door; and a 60C heat alarm in the kitchen linked to the smoke alarm system.
- For 7-10 person shared houses: as above, plus additional compatible smoke alarms covering all bedrooms not otherwise covered.
- For bedsitting accommodation: 30-minute fire doors, a fire blanket near the cooker, Automatic Fire Detection to BS 5839 Part 1 (Grade L2, heat and smoke detection) for the whole house, and emergency lighting to BS 5266 Part 1 covering all common stairs, halls and landings.
- The council's HMO application requires a current fire safety risk assessment, a fire detection test report, and (where installed) an emergency lighting test report to be submitted with the application.
Kitchen, bathroom and amenity standards
- Where 4 or fewer occupiers share facilities: at least one bathroom with a fixed bath or shower and a toilet (which may be in the bathroom).
- Where 5 or more occupiers share facilities: one separate toilet with wash-hand basin for every 5 sharing occupiers, plus at least one bathroom (which may contain a toilet) with a fixed bath or shower for every 5 sharing occupiers; each separate occupancy should also have its own wash-hand basin with hot and cold running water.
- Kitchens: sinks with draining boards at a ratio of 1 per 5 persons; cookers with a minimum of 4 rings, a standard oven and a grill, usually at 1 per 5 persons; a minimum of 4 electrical sockets, at a ratio of one double socket per 2 persons (or part thereof) using the kitchen; worktops of minimum 500mm depth, length 0.5m plus 0.5m per person; food storage cupboards of at least one 500mm-wide unit per person; fridge/freezer space of at least 1 cubic foot per person.
- Self-contained units without shared kitchen facilities require their own cooking appliances (scaled to occupancy), sink with hot/cold water, worktop, minimum 2 sockets, storage cupboard and refrigerator (min. 1 cu ft per person).
Documents you will need
- Fire safety risk assessment — Current risk assessment covering common parts of the property, as required under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
- Fire detection test report — Evidence the fire detection/alarm system has been tested.
- Emergency lighting test report — Required where an emergency lighting system is installed in the property.
- Gas safety certificate — Recent certificate, where the property has gas appliances.
- Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) — From an inspection within the last 5 years.
- Portable Appliance Test (PAT) report — For any portable electrical appliances supplied with the property.
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) — Current, valid EPC for the property.
- Floor plan — Must comply with the council's own published 'Floor Plan Standards Guidance for HMOs' document, showing room dimensions.
Sources
Compiled from the council’s own published pages and documents; data reviewed September 2026. Rules and fees change, so always confirm with Epsom and Ewell Borough Council before applying. This is general information, not legal advice.