HMO licensing in Sefton

The published fee for a new HMO licence is £950, and £900 to renew. Fees can depend on the number of occupants or lettings, and they are reviewed each year.

Fees published on Sefton's landlord licensing pages ('Fees from 1st April 2023'). Mandatory HMO licence NEW: full fee £950; £800 with accreditation (property accredited under Sefton's Property Accreditation Scheme); £750 where an accredited managing agent is the licence holder (one discount only can be chosen). Mandatory RENEWAL: £900 full; £750 accredited; £700 accredited managing agent. For each additional unit under the same proposed licence holder in the same building, £30 is added (e.g. 4 self-contained flats/bedsits = £1,040). Payment: £250 on application, balance (after any discount) requested on production of the draft licence. Additional (HMO) Licensing (designated areas only, 3-4 person HMOs and certain s257 buildings): same fee table as mandatory new (£950 / 800 / 750, plus £30 per extra unit). Selective Licensing (Bootle designated area, all privately rented homes): £695 full, £545 accredited (Sefton scheme or NRLA-accredited landlord; NRLA membership alone does not qualify), £495 accredited managing agent, plus £30 per additional unit; this is a five-year licence. No refund unless the application was made in error; fees are not pro-rated for early cancellation. Flat fee, not scaled by occupant number.

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

Fees for council-designated schemes are set separately from the mandatory HMO fee. Figures are the standard full-rate fee for a new licence, before any discounts.

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.

• Automatic fire detection and alarm system to BS 5839-6:2019 (LD2 coverage) installed to Grade A specification, with BS 5839-1:2017 control and indicating equipment, hard-wired system with battery back-up; optical smoke detectors on protected routes and circulation areas and detection in habitable rooms, on a dedicated labelled circuit (guidance for licensable HMOs of 3+ storeys; a slightly lower standard may be accepted for HMOs of up to 2 storeys, so agree with the HMO team).
• Minimum 30-minute fire-resisting construction to walls, floors, ceilings and doors forming the protected escape route; FD30s fire doors (intumescent and smoke seals, self-closing, hung on three 100 mm steel butt hinges) to flat/bedsit/shared-house accommodation doors opening onto the stair; one-hour separation may be needed between basement and ground floor or above a commercial unit.
• No escape route from a bedroom through a room of higher fire risk (lounge, kitchen); inner-room ground-floor bedrooms need an escape window of at least 0.33 m2 with no dimension under 450 mm and a cill height of 800-1100 mm.
• Emergency lighting is expected (an Emergency Lighting Certificate is requested at application), plus fire alarm test certificate and logbook.
• National mandatory conditions also apply: gas safety certificate (annual), electrical installation safety, smoke and CO alarms, furniture fire-safety, and displaying licence conditions (Schedule 4 Housing Act 2004 as amended by SI 2018/616).

• Shared kitchens must not be shared by more than 5 persons; minimum floor area 7 m2 (at least 1.8 m at narrowest point), rising by 1.0 m2 per extra person up to 10 m2 for 6-10 persons (with an adjacent dining area) or additional kitchens: 6-10 persons = 2 kitchens, 11-15 = 3 kitchens.
• Each shared kitchen set (up to 5 persons): fixed worktop at least 2 m x 0.6 m (3 m x 0.6 m if double set), 4-ring cooker with oven and grill, two 13A double sockets adjacent to the worktop, 1 m sink with integral drainer, constant hot water and tiled splash-back, storage equivalent to a 500 mm wall unit per person, refrigerator of at least 142 litres plus freezer compartment (approx. 255 litres fridge/freezer for the additional set), refuse bin. Mechanical kitchen extraction of at least 60 litres per second.
• Bedsit (own kitchen): 2-ring cooker with oven and grill (4 rings if two persons), sink and drainer with hot and cold water, worktop at least 1 m x 0.6 m, double socket, 500 mm wall-unit storage per person, refrigerator of at least 142 litres.
• Bathrooms and WCs: one bathroom with bath/shower, WC and wash hand basin per 4 persons; with 5 persons a separate WC compartment is required; 6-10 persons = 2 bathrooms and 2 WCs (one WC may be in a bathroom); 11-15 persons = 3 bathrooms and 3 WCs. Each WC compartment needs a wash hand basin; with 5+ sharing an additional wash hand basin is required in each sleeping room (transitional period of up to 5 years for shared houses and 3 years for bedsits).
• Space heating: permanent fixed heating controllable by the occupier, capable of 21 C in habitable letting rooms and 18 C elsewhere.
• Security: window locks, front door viewer and safety chain, secure locks openable from inside without a key on final exit doors and bedroom doors.

• Gas safety certificate — Landlord's Gas Safety Record issued within the previous 12 months (for each self-contained flat where relevant).
• Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) — Current EICR (for each self-contained flat where relevant).
• Fire alarm test certificate and logbook — Certificate for the automatic fire detection system and the maintenance logbook.
• Emergency lighting certificate — Where emergency lighting is installed/required.
• Portable Appliance Test (PAT) certificate — If applicable, for electrical appliances supplied by the landlord.
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) — For each self-contained unit or flat.
• Floor plan — Floor plan of the property, plus details of facilities and amenities and the planning/building regulations status.
• Tenancy agreement / statement of terms — Copies of tenancy agreements or the statement of terms and conditions of occupation, and the tenancy deposit scheme details.
• Proof of identity and address — Proof of identification and address of the proposed licence holder (licence holder must be UK-resident).
• Fit and proper person information — Details of any criminal record of the proposed licence holder and manager, and any accreditations held.
• Owner/manager/mortgagee details and notification date — Contact details for owners, long-term tenants/leaseholders, manager and mortgage providers, and the date each was informed of the application; list of other Sefton private rented properties owned.

• sefton.gov.uk
• sefton.gov.uk
• sefton.gov.uk
• sefton.gov.uk
• sefton.gov.uk

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