HMO licensing in South Tyneside

South Tyneside 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 £1,079. Fees can depend on the number of occupants or lettings, and they are reviewed each year.

South Tyneside charges a single HMO licence fee of £1,079, published on the council's HMO licence pages, payable in two parts: £647.40 on application, and £431.60 on issue of the licence. The council does not publish a separately discounted renewal fee, so the same fee applies to a renewal application. The fee covers a licence lasting up to 5 years. No accreditation or multi-property discount is published.

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

• Fire alarm systems scale with building height: 1-2 storey properties need a Grade D interlinked (mains-wired or Wi-Fi) system per BS 5839-6, with detectors on every escape-route level, in the shared lounge, and a heat detector in the shared kitchen. 3+ storey properties need a full Grade A interlinked system with detectors in every bedroom, lounge, dining room and high-risk room, wired to a control panel with manual call points by final exits and on every landing.
• Fire doors: kitchen and shared-lounge doors must be 30-minute (FD30S) fire doors with intumescent strips, cold smoke seals and self-closers in all buildings; bedroom doors need the same in 3+ storey properties (self-closer + intumescent strips only, no smoke seal required, in 1-2 storey properties unless the room is high-risk, e.g. contains cooking facilities or lacks a shared lounge).
• All final exit doors, bedroom doors and other escape doors must have locks openable from the inside without a key (e.g. thumb-turn) — break-glass boxes are not acceptable.
• A fire risk assessment by a competent person is required as part of every licence application, must be reviewed regularly, and any identified works must be completed.
• Grade D alarm systems must be tested weekly by the landlord/manager (self-certified) with detectors cleaned at least annually; Grade A systems must be tested monthly and serviced by a competent engineer at least every 6 months (BS 5839-1:2013), with a certificate issued each time.
• Emergency escape lighting is required in any HMO with 2+ storeys and more than 4 occupants; the council requires it to be tested monthly by the landlord, with a full annual service by a competent person (BS 5266).
• A fire blanket, wall-mounted in a conspicuous, accessible position, must be provided in every kitchen (shared or self-contained).
• A testing/maintenance logbook must be kept on-site for the fire alarm system and emergency lighting.
• As with all licensed HMOs nationally, a carbon monoxide alarm is required in any room with a fixed combustion appliance (Housing Act 2004 mandatory conditions).

• Bath/shower ratio: at least 1 per 5 sharing occupants; toilets: 1 for 4 or fewer occupiers (may be in the bathroom), rising to 1 separate toilet with wash basin per 5 occupiers where there are 5 or more. Facilities must be inside the building, accessible from a common area, and normally no more than one floor from the user.
• Bathroom fittings: minimum bath size 1700mm x 700mm, shower 800mm x 800mm; a 300mm tiled splash-back is required behind every bath/basin; space heating must maintain 19°C at -1°C outside, under occupier control.
• Kitchen size: at least 7 m² for 3-5 occupants, 10 m² for 6-10 occupants, with a minimum 1.8 m width; located within one floor of bedrooms (up to two floors permitted in smaller 3-storey-or-under HMOs with 10 or fewer occupants).
• A complete set of kitchen facilities is required per 5 persons (max 2 sets per kitchen): stainless-steel sink with drainer and splash-back, a 4-ring cooker with oven and grill, at least 3 double 13A sockets, 1500mm x 600mm worktop, food storage cupboard per occupant, and a 130-litre fridge plus 60-litre freezer (or equivalent combined unit) — scaling up for larger households per the council's Table 5.
• Kitchen mechanical ventilation: minimum 60 litres/second extraction (or 30 l/s if the fan sits within 300mm of the hob centre), in addition to any openable window.
• Where every letting has its own exclusive kitchen facilities, no shared kitchen is required; exclusive-use kitchens need a minimum 2-ring cooker with oven/grill, a 130-litre fridge-freezer, and a smaller worktop/storage allowance scaled per occupant.
• Electrical installations must be inspected every 5 years by a competent person; portable appliances supplied by the landlord need PAT testing if over 12 months old.

• Gas safety certificate (CP12) — Current Landlords Gas Safety Record, required where gas is supplied to the property.
• EICR — Valid Electrical Installation Condition Report.
• EPC — Valid Energy Performance Certificate for the property.
• Fit and proper person declaration — Declaration from the licence holder and every person involved in managing the property that they have no relevant unspent convictions (fraud, dishonesty, violence, drugs, sexual offences), have not practised unlawful discrimination in business, and have not contravened housing law or an approved management code.
• Basic Disclosure/DBS certificate — Basic disclosure certificate (Disclosure Scotland Service) for the licence holder and every property manager, supporting the fit-and-proper-person test.
• Fire risk assessment — Current assessment covering means of escape, detection/alarm provision and compartmentation, carried out by a competent person.
• Property/floor plan — Showing room layout and sizes, baths/showers/basins/WCs, kitchen sinks/cookers/worktops, fire doors, fire alarms, fire-resisting construction, emergency lighting and fire-fighting equipment. En-suite areas must be excluded from room-size figures.
• Emergency lighting / fire detection test certificate — Current inspection and test report for the emergency lighting and fire detection system, where fitted.
• PAT certificate — Portable Appliance Test certificate(s) for any landlord-supplied electrical appliances over 12 months old.
• Tenancy agreement — Copy of the current tenancy agreement for the property.

• southtyneside.gov.uk
• southtyneside.gov.uk
• southtyneside.gov.uk
• southtyneside.gov.uk
• southtyneside.gov.uk

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