North West
HMO licensing in West Lancashire
West Lancashire 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 West Lancashire (checked September 2026). The council does not publish a single licence fee, so check its fees page.
Mandatory licence
5+ people, 2+ households
National scheme
Additional / selective
None in force
Mandatory licensing only
Licence fee
Not published
Decision time
Not published
Licensing schemes in West Lancashire
West Lancashire 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
West Lancashire Borough 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.
NOT VERIFIED. West Lancashire Borough Council's official HMO page (westlancs.gov.uk/hmo) does not state an HMO licence fee, the GOV.UK licence-finder entry for the council says only 'You'll be charged a fee which is set by the council', and the council's 'Licensing Fees and Charges 2026-2027' PDF covers premises, taxi, animal welfare and similar licences but contains no HMO fee. Third-party sites quote roughly £810 but that figure is not from an official council source and is deliberately not used. Whether the fee is flat or scaled, and whether any accredited-landlord discount exists, is therefore unknown.
Check the current fee on the council website (westlancs.gov.uk) before you apply.
Minimum room sizes
| Single bedroom | 6.51 m2 minimum for one person over 10 years of age. Stated on the council's HMO page as the mandatory national minimum sleeping room size imposed on licences from 1 October 2018 (SI 2018/616). The council has not published stricter local room-size standards that could be found, so this is the national fallback. |
|---|---|
| Double bedroom | 10.22 m2 minimum for two persons over 10 years of age (national minimum, SI 2018/616, as stated on the council's HMO page). |
| Child under 10 | 4.64 m2 minimum for one child under 10 years of age (national minimum). Rooms under 4.64 m2 cannot be used as sleeping accommodation and the landlord must notify the council of any such rooms; floor area with ceiling height under 1.5 m is not counted; communal space cannot compensate for undersized bedrooms. |
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
- West Lancashire has not published a local HMO fire-safety standard that could be found; the council says it will add licence conditions and may require improvements to facilities, and offers free advisory inspections from the Private Sector Housing Team.
- National mandatory licence conditions apply (Schedule 4 Housing Act 2004 as amended by SI 2018/616): working smoke alarms on each storey and carbon monoxide alarms where solid fuel is burned, with the licence holder keeping them in working order, and safe furniture and appliances on request.
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to the common parts of licensable HMOs (national requirement; a fire risk assessment is expected). Not a West Lancashire-specific document.
Kitchen, bathroom and amenity standards
- No West Lancashire-specific amenity standards document (kitchen, bathroom, WC ratios) was found on the council's website. The prescribed national minimum amenity standards for licensable HMOs (Schedule 3 of the Licensing and Management of HMOs and Other Houses (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/373) apply; applicants should confirm bathroom, WC and kitchen ratios with the Private Sector Housing Team.
- Licence conditions require: gas safety certificate supplied to the council annually, safe electrical installations and appliances (declaration on request), smoke alarms maintained, and compliance with the council's storage and waste disposal scheme (if one exists) as stated on the council's HMO page.
- The council states that all HMOs, licensed or not, must be managed in accordance with the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006.
Documents you will need
- Gas safety certificate — Updated gas safety certificate to be sent to the council every year (per GOV.UK licence-finder entry for the council and national mandatory conditions).
- Electrical safety — Safety certificates for all electrical appliances supplied by the landlord on request; declaration that the electrical installation is safe (national mandatory conditions). A current EICR is standard practice.
- Smoke and CO alarm evidence — Smoke alarms installed and maintained; CO alarms where solid fuel appliances are present.
- Floor plan showing room sizes — Needed so the council can set the maximum number of occupants per room against the 6.51 / 10.22 / 4.64 m2 minimums. The council's exact form contents sit behind its login portal and were not verified.
- Fit and proper person information — The licence holder and manager must be fit and proper (no relevant convictions, breaches of landlord law or codes of practice).
Sources
Compiled from the council’s own published pages and documents; data reviewed September 2026. Rules and fees change, so always confirm with West Lancashire Borough Council before applying. This is general information, not legal advice.