HMO licensing in Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight 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.

Isle of Wight 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.

Isle of Wight Council does not publish an HMO licence fee on its current website. Its HMO information page (iow.gov.uk/article/2620) directs applicants to contact Housing Renewal on 01983 823040 or housing.renewal@iow.gov.uk for licence information and applications, and the council's Licensing fees and charges section (street trading, taxis, Licensing Act, mobile homes etc.) contains no HMO fee. An older council PDF of HMO licence fee guidance (April 2021) and a June 2016 HMO amenities guide were previously hosted under /azservices/documents/ but now return not found, so no verifiable current fee, renewal fee, discount or instalment scheme could be sourced. All fee fields are therefore null rather than estimated.

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

• The council has not published a fire safety standard for HMOs on its current website. Prospective licensees are directed to Housing Renewal for the local standard.
• NATIONAL BASELINE (not Isle of Wight specific): 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 (enforced by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service); the council's HMO page does not itself detail it.

• The council has no currently published kitchen/bathroom ratio standard (its 2016 amenities guidance is no longer online). The following is the NATIONAL statutory baseline from SI 2006/373 Sch 3, which uses 'adequate' standards without numeric ratios.
• 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.
• 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.
• Each unit of living accommodation must have adequate space heating.

• Licence application via Housing Renewal — The council does not publish an application form or checklist online; it states that licence applications are made by contacting Housing Renewal (01983 823040, housing.renewal@iow.gov.uk).
• Gas safety certificate — Statutory HMO licence condition: where gas is supplied, a current gas safety certificate must be produced to the council (Housing Act 2004 Sch 4 as amended). Not confirmed by the council as an application document.
• Electrical safety — Statutory: electrical installation inspected at least every 5 years under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020; the council lists Electrical Safety Regulations enforcement on its Housing standards page.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms — Statutory licence condition and Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations; listed as enforcement area on the council's Housing standards page.

• iow.gov.uk
• iow.gov.uk
• iow.gov.uk
• legislation.gov.uk

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