Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Houses in multiple occupancy (HMO) - licence application

If you rent out a property for house in multiple occupancy (HMO), you may require a licence from your local authority.

If you rent out or intend to rent out a house in multiple occupation which has three or more storeys and occupied by five or more people (who form more than one household) then you are required to have a licence.

Eligibility criteria

Applications must be made to Stockton Council.  Applications can be made online.  Your application will not be processed until all the accompanying attachments and HMO licence fee are received.

Licence fee

The basic licence fee is £250 per unit of accommodation.  To calculate the fee multiply the number of units of accommodation by £250, for example the licence fee for a HMO with 5 units of accommodation will be £1,250.

For landlords who are members of Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's Landlord Accreditation Scheme the licence fee is discounted to £200 per unit of accommodation.

A unit of accommodation means a room such as a bedsit room, a self contained flat (that has been deemed to be part of a HMO), a bedroom in a shared house, flat or hostel.

View details of our HMO licence fees

Application checks 

The Council will undertake checks to ensure that the proposed licence holder and others managing the HMO (or any people associated with them) are 'fit and proper' people. In deciding whether someone is fit and proper the Council will take in to account:

• any previous convictions relating to offences involving; violence, drugs, sexual offences and fraud or dishonesty
• contraventions of laws relating to housing, health and safety, public health, building or planning legislation or landlord and tenant law
• whether the person has practiced unlawful discrimination on the grounds of sex, colour, race, ethnic or national origins or disability

Evaluation process

Licences will be granted if:

• the house is or can be made suitable for multiple occupation - we will consider the application and determine the number of households and/or persons allowed to occupy the HMO. In doing this we will consider the number of rooms available to be used for sleeping and/or for communal purposes. We also consider the sizes of these rooms and the number of baths and/or showers, toilets and kitchen amenities.  The following documents may be useful Minimum Amenity Standards and Fire Safety Guidance.
• the applicant is a fit and proper person and the most appropriate person to hold the licence - along with meeting the fit and proper person criteria, the Council will need to be satisfied that the licence holder is the most appropriate person to hold the licence.  The most appropriate person is the person having control of the HMO. The person having control is defined in section 263 of the Housing Act 2004 as 'the person who receives not less than two-thirds of the full net annual value of the premise' i.e. two-thirds of the rental income. 
• the proposed manager has control of the house, and is a fit and proper person to be the manager - along with meeting the fit and proper person criteria, the Council will need to be satisfied that the person managing the HMO is either the person having control of the HMO or is a person who is an employee or an agent of the person having control of the HMO.
• the management arrangements are satisfactory - in considering whether the proposed management arrangements for the HMO are satisfactory the Council will give consideration that any person involved in the management of the HMO has a sufficient level of competence to be involved. We will also carry out checks to ensure that any person who will be involved in the management of the HMO (other than the manager) is a fit and proper person to be involved and the Council will also check to see if the proposed management structures and funding arrangements are suitable.

Apply for a new HMO licence

Apply for a house in multiple occupancy licence. You should also use this application if an existing licence holder has changed. 

The application must be submitted with several supporting documents.  Your application will not be processed until all the required attachments are received. 

The appropriate licence fee must also be paid electronically at the time of on-line application.

If you wish to submit an application offline, pint the HMO Licence Application Form and submit it to Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, along with all necessary supporting documents, plus a cheque for the appropriate licence fee. Your application will not be complete until the supporting documents and HMO licence fee are received.

Apply to change an existing HMO licence 

Apply to change an existing house in multiple occupancy licence

This form should be used if the circumstances regarding your HMO change during the licence period, for example, the number of rooms available for letting changes. 

Apply to renew a HMO licence

Apply to renew a licence for a house in multiple occupation 

This form should be used if an existing HMO licence is due to be renewed.

Need help with your application?

If you need help in completing your application then you can pay a fee to Stockton Council who will assist you with the application to ensure it is correct (this will include the production of scaled plan drawings of the property). The amount you will be required to pay will depend upon the number of units of accommodation - HMO licence fees. 

Waiting for consent

You should not assume that you can proceed and operate your HMO if you have not received a decision from us.  We must process your application fully before permission can be granted. We will let you know if your application has been successful within 120 days.  Please contact us if you have not heard from us after 120 days has passed. 

Complaints and advice 

If your licence application is refused you can make representations to Stockton Council in the first instance.  You may also appeal to a residential property tribunal.

If we still refuse your licence application then you can appeal to the Residential Property Tribunal. This must be done within 28 days of the decision to refuse your application being made.

Northern Residential Panel
Residential Property Tribunal Service
First Floor
5 New York Street
Manchester
M1 4JB
Telephone (0845) 100 2614, fax (0161) 237 3656/(0161) 237 949, email northern.rap@communities.gsi.gov.uk - further details are available at www.rpts.gov.uk.

If you would like to complain about the way your licence application has been dealt with please contact us in the first instance.

You may appeal to a residential property tribunal regarding conditions attached to a licence or any decision to vary or revoke a licence.  Any appeal must be made within 28 days of the decision being made.

• if a licence is granted and you wish to appeal against it being granted you may do so to a residential property tribunal within 28 days of the decision being made
• also one licence holder can complain about another

As a licence holder you may have cause to make a complaint regarding a number of matters.  Listed below are the details of some of the organisations that may be able to help.

Anti-social behaviour - contact Anti-Social Behaviour team

Pest control, light and noise pollution, public health - Environmental Health service.

A licence holder complaining about another licence holder - Private Sector Housing service.

You may find that the following trade associations are able to offer helpful advice:

British Property Federation

National Federation of Property Professionals

Web Links

Stockton Council is not responsible for the content of external websites.

• EUGO - index page - with language options