Decision details

To determine the cost of an application for a HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) Licence and the cost of an application for a renewal of a HMO Licence. The fee applies to mandatory licensing under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004.

The total fee for a HMO Licence is to be £607 consisting of two parts (£496 and £111)* .

Numbers of applications will be monitored and reported to the relevant portfolio holders.

Note * - The primary fee includes a site visit and assessment background - checks, preparation if the licence, senior officers review and authorisation, and issue of the licence.

The secondary fee of £111 includes interim inspection, assessment of standards, resulting correspondence and Uniform updates.

Legislation is changing such that more properties will require a HMO Licence (i.e. this will apply to all HMO's, and not restricted to three storey properties).

The cost of the licence has been determined using an officer hourly rate and the amount of time it takes to process the application. The hourly rate has been calculated which considers the actual cost to the council as opposed to a salary rate. The licence fee therefor fairly reflects the cost incurred by the Council in processing the application.

Consideration has been given to guidance and case law in determining the methodology and the fee. Therefore, it is not possible to determine a fee, without following a methodology which is robust and evidences justification for the level of fee.

If a fee were not set then the opportunity to recover costs at NEDDC would be missed (as no fee has ever been set) and at BDC the costs recovered would be significantly less than the cost incurred.