South East
HMO licensing in Hart
Hart District 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 Hart (checked September 2026). The published licence fee starts at £893 (£686 to renew).
Mandatory licence
5+ people, 2+ households
National scheme
Additional / selective
None in force
Mandatory licensing only
Licence fee
From £893
Renewal £686
Decision time
Not published
Licensing schemes in Hart
Hart 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.
Licence fees
The published fee for a new HMO licence is £893, and £686 to renew. Fees can depend on the number of occupants or lettings, and they are reviewed each year.
Fees for 2026/2027 published on the council's HMO page, scaled by number of occupants. New licence: £893 (5 persons), £1,121 (6-10), £1,344 (11-15), £1,565 (16-20), £1,786 (21+). Renewal: £686 (5 persons), £862 (6-10), £1,033 (11-15), £1,202 (16-20), £1,372 (21+). HMO licence variations: £0. Discount: 10% reduction for members of the National Landlords Association and any other association affiliated to the National Federation of Residential Landlords (this is a landlord-association discount, not an accredited-landlord-scheme discount; how it is applied is not stated). totalGbp is the entry-tier (5 persons) new-licence fee and renewalGbp the 5-person renewal fee; fees rise with occupant count. Payment is online via the council's payment portal; no instalment scheme is published.
Check the current fee on the council website (hart.gov.uk) before you apply.
Minimum room sizes
| Single bedroom | 6.51 m² minimum (NATIONAL FALLBACK: statutory minimum sleeping-room size, Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/616). Hart has not published its own room-size standard. |
|---|---|
| Double bedroom | 10.22 m² minimum for two persons over 10 (NATIONAL FALLBACK, SI 2018/616). |
| Child under 10 | 4.64 m² minimum (NATIONAL FALLBACK, SI 2018/616). |
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
- Hart's HMO page points landlords to the LACORS/CIEH 'Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing' as its fire safety guidance; the guidance is not reproduced on the council's site, so specific detector grades, fire doors etc. should be taken from that document and the council's inspection.
- Statutory: Schedule 3 of the 2006 Regulations (SI 2006/373) requires appropriate fire precaution facilities and equipment of a type, number and location considered necessary; kitchens in shared HMOs must have fire blankets and fire doors.
- Statutory licence conditions: smoke alarm on each storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a solid fuel appliance (Housing Act 2004 Sch 4 licence conditions; Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015).
- A fire risk assessment of communal areas under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is a separate national legal duty for HMO landlords; Hart's HMO page does not itself detail it.
Kitchen, bathroom and amenity standards
- Hart has not published its own kitchen/bathroom ratio standard. The following is the NATIONAL statutory baseline (SI 2006/373 Sch 3), which sets 'adequate' standards without numeric ratios.
- Bathrooms/WCs: where units lack their own facilities there must be an adequate number of bathrooms, toilets and wash-hand basins for the number of persons sharing; all suitably heated, ventilated, of adequate size and layout, with constant hot and cold water.
- Shared kitchens: must be of adequate size and layout with sinks and draining boards, hot and cold water, cooking installations, electrical sockets, worktops, food/utensil storage, refrigerator with adequate freezer compartment, refuse disposal, extractor fan, fire blanket and fire door, all in sufficient quantity for the number sharing.
- Each unit of living accommodation must have adequate space heating.
Documents you will need
- Gas safety certificate — Annual Gas Safe engineer inspection of all gas appliances is a statutory requirement for landlords (confirmed on Hart's Safety standards page). Hart has not published an HMO application document checklist; it issues a licensing pack after contact with the private sector housing team.
- Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) — Electrical installation inspected at least every five years by a qualified person, with a copy given to tenants (Hart's Safety standards page).
- Energy Performance Certificate — Rented properties must meet minimum EPC rating E unless exempt (Hart's Safety standards page).
- Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm declaration — Statutory HMO licence condition; the licensing pack may ask for confirmation. Exact form requirements are not published by Hart.
Sources
Compiled from the council’s own published pages and documents; data reviewed September 2026. Rules and fees change, so always confirm with Hart District Council before applying. This is general information, not legal advice.