HMO and selective licensing in Brighton & Hove City Council

Brighton & Hove runs three licensing schemes. Which one applies depends on the property, who lives there and where it is.

• Mandatory HMO licensing covers HMOs where 5 or more people live as more than one household, across the city.^[28]
• Additional HMO licensing covers HMOs of 2 or more storeys with 3 or 4 unrelated people, across the whole city. It runs from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2029.^[19]
• Selective licensing covers other privately rented homes in four wards, listed below. It runs from 2 September 2024 to 1 September 2029.^[19]

A second selective designation, made on 6 July 2026, adds the Regency and Central Hove wards from 20 October 2026 to 19 October 2031. Before 20 October 2026 it does not apply.^[19]

Whatever Brighton & Hove designates locally, a large HMO shared by at least five people from more than one household needs a mandatory licence anywhere in England. The property licensing guide sets out the national tests that sit behind every local scheme.^[28]

Brighton & Hove's selective scheme covers these four wards (from 2 September 2024):^[19]

• Kemp Town
• Moulsecoomb & Bevendean
• Queen's Park
• Whitehawk & Marina

Brighton & Hove publishes its registers as spreadsheets you can download: one each for mandatory HMO, additional HMO and selective licences, and two for temporary exemptions. Only homes with a fully issued licence appear, so a home whose application is still being processed will be missing. A missing entry is a reason to ask the council in writing, not proof of an offence.^[24]

1. Download the register for the scheme that covers the address. Property licensing register (opens in new tab)^[24]
2. Search the exact address. Save a dated screenshot or download of the result. Councils must keep a register of licences, temporary exemption notices and management orders and make it available for inspection.^[29]
3. Ask about applications and exemptions. A missing entry is a reason to investigate, not proof of an offence, so ask whether a licence, application or exemption covered the dates you rented there.^[32]
4. Report or ask in writing. psh@brighton-hove.gov.uk. Email Private Sector Housing at psh@brighton-hove.gov.uk or call 01273 293 156. The council has no online form for reporting an unlicensed home.^[27] Ask for a reference number and keep the reply.

Brighton & Hove sets its own HMO licensing standards. A licence requires the landlord to do any work needed to meet them, covering fire safety, amenities, room sizes and management. Its selective licence conditions cover smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, annual gas safety checks, electrical certificates, written tenancy terms and regular property inspections.^[19]

• National conditions are the floor. Every licence carries the prescribed conditions on gas, electrics, alarms, tenancy terms and waste, and can last up to five years; the property licensing guide lists them in full.^[30]
• Compare the licence with reality. The register entry or licence may identify the manager, the permitted occupancy and property-specific conditions. Check those details against how the home is actually occupied and managed.
• Keep separate evidence of hazards. A licence does not establish continuing compliance. Report disrepair or an immediate safety risk separately, and keep photographs, messages and certificates.

Additional licensing can only apply to periods from 1 July 2024, and the four-ward selective scheme to periods from 2 September 2024. The Regency and Central Hove designation cannot apply to any period before 20 October 2026. Mandatory HMO licensing applies throughout.^[19][24]

1. Confirm the scheme and dates. Match the address, occupancy and rental period to the designation in force at the time.
2. Ask the council in writing. psh@brighton-hove.gov.uk. Ask Brighton & Hove City Council whether an effective application or temporary exemption existed and when it took effect.^[27]
3. Check the legal position. An application, an exemption, a reasonable excuse or the identity of the person legally responsible (the "person managing or controlling" the property) can all affect whether an offence is proved.^[32]
4. Preserve the evidence. Keep the tenancy, rent payments, proof of occupation, dated searches and council correspondence.

For a licensing offence committed on or after the 1 May 2026 rule change, a tenant can ask the First-tier Tribunal for up to two years' rent, and normally has two years from the offence to apply. The tenant must prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt, and the tribunal decides any award from the statutory factors and evidence; recovery is never automatic.^[33] Older offence periods may be governed by earlier limits. Free housing advice is available from Shelter and Citizens Advice, and local law centres can help with tribunal cases.