Can they do that? Brighton & Hove
All questions

Does my landlord need a licence to rent out my home?

Short answer

Often, yes

Shared houses with 5 or more people always need a licence, and so do shared houses on 2 or more floors with 3 or 4 people. Most other rented homes need one in Kemp Town, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queens Park and Whitehawk & Marina. From 20 October 2026, they need one in Central Hove and Regency too. If your home should be licensed but isn't, you may be able to get rent back.

Shared houses (HMOs)

Your home is a house in multiple occupation (HMO) if 3 or more of you live there as more than one household and share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. A household is one person, a couple or a family, so in a house share between friends, each person counts as a household.1

  • 5 or more people: it always needs a licence, anywhere in the city.2
  • 3 or 4 people, on 2 or more floors: it needs a licence anywhere in the city. This scheme runs from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2029.3
  • 3 or 4 people, all on one floor, like most flats: the HMO schemes don’t cover it. It needs a selective licence if it’s in one of the wards below.4

Other rented homes: some wards

Selective licensing covers homes let to one person, two people or a family, and single-floor shared flats with 3 or 4 people, in these wards:5

  • Kemp Town, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queens Park, and Whitehawk & Marina, from 2 September 2024 to 1 September 2029.6
  • Central Hove and Regency: the scheme starts on 20 October 2026 and runs to 19 October 2031. Homes there need a selective licence from that date.7

The council plans to bring in selective licensing in more parts of the city in phases.8 It has a map of the scheme areas.

Some homes are exempt, for example homes let by a housing association.9

Check your home

Search the council’s property licensing register. It only lists homes where a full licence has been issued. It doesn’t show licences that have expired, or applications the council is still dealing with.10

So if your home isn’t on it, ask the council’s Private Sector Housing team: psh@brighton-hove.gov.uk or 01273 293 156. They can’t share personal details, but they may be able to tell you whether a licence has expired or an application has come in.11

If your landlord has applied for a licence and the application is still going through, they aren’t committing the offence of letting without one.12

If it should be licensed but isn’t

  • Letting a home that should be licensed but isn’t is a criminal offence. It’s committed by the person managing or in control of the home and by the landlord.1314
  • If prosecuted, the landlord can get an unlimited fine. The council can fine them up to £40,000 instead.1516

You can report an unlicensed home to Private Sector Housing.17

Getting rent back

If your home should have been licensed but wasn’t, you may be able to get rent back through a rent repayment order from the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).18 Your landlord doesn’t have to have been prosecuted or fined first.19

  • How much: up to two years’ rent for the time the home was unlicensed. The tribunal decides the final amount, looking at things like how you and your landlord behaved.20
  • When: within two years of the offence. You can apply after you’ve moved out.21
  • Before 1 May 2026: for any time before 1 May 2026, the old rules apply. The most you can get is one year’s rent, and you must apply within one year.22
  • Housing Benefit and Universal Credit: you can’t claim back rent paid by benefits, but the council can.23
  • Evidence: you have to prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt, and there’s a fee to apply.24
  • Eviction: your landlord can’t evict you for applying.25

Get advice before applying. BHT Sussex and Citizens Advice can help.

References

  1. Houses in Multiple Occupation. Brighton & Hove City Council. Your property is an HMO if: 3 or more tenants are living there as more than one household tenants share the kitchen, bathroom or toilet facilities A household can be a single person, a couple or a family. If a group of friends or professionals are sharing, each person is counted as a household. ↩

  2. Houses in Multiple Occupation, Mandatory HMO licensing. You always need a licence for your HMO if 5 or more tenants are living there as more than one household. ↩

  3. Houses in Multiple Occupation, Additional HMO licensing. This scheme is for HMOs of 2 or more storeys with 3 or 4 unrelated occupiers. The scheme will run from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2029. Notice of Designation of Areas for Selective Licencing 2026. Brighton & Hove City Council, 6 July 2026. The Citywide Additional HMO Licensing Scheme covers HMOs of two or more storeys with three or four occupants. ↩

  4. Selective licensing. Brighton & Hove City Council. The scheme also applies to single-storey properties (flats or bungalows) with 3 or 4 unrelated occupiers that don’t fall under the criteria of the Mandatory or Additional Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) schemes. ↩

  5. Selective licensing, Selective licensing scheme. you’ll need to apply for a selective licence if you are renting to: one occupier 2 occupiers a family ↩

  6. Notice of Designation of Areas for Selective Licensing. Brighton & Hove City Council. The Designation shall come into force on 2 September 2024. The Designation will cease to have effect on 1 September 2029 This Designation will apply to the wards Kemp Town, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queens Park and Whitehawk & Marina ↩

  7. Notice of Designation of Areas for Selective Licencing 2026, paras. 3–4. The Designation shall come into force on 20 October 2026. The Designation will cease to have effect at midnight on 19 October 2031 This Designation will apply to the wards Regency and Central Hove ↩

  8. Selective licensing scheme expanded after positive impact in first 4 areas. Brighton & Hove City Council, 2026. The council had previously approved the roll-out of the selective licensing scheme to 13 areas of the city, which are now being introduced in a phased approach. ↩

  9. Notice of Designation of Areas for Selective Licencing 2026, para. 5. The tenancy or licence of the house has been granted by a Registered Social Landlord ↩

  10. Property licensing register. Brighton & Hove City Council. Only properties where the full licence has been issued can appear on the Public Registers. We cannot include properties where a licence has expired or for which an application form has been received or is currently being processed. ↩

  11. Houses in Multiple Occupation, Check if a property has a licence. We cannot give out details or personal information, but we may be able to let you know if a licence has expired, or we have received a new application. phone 01273 293 156 send an email to psh@brighton-hove.gov.uk ↩

  12. Housing Act 2004, s. 72(4). it is a defence that, at the material time— (a)a notification had been duly given in respect of the house under section 62(1), or (b)an application for a licence had been duly made in respect of the house under section 63, and that notification or application was still effective Housing Act 2004, s. 95(3) says the same for selective licences. ↩

  13. Housing Act 2004, s. 72(1)–(1A). If an HMO is required to be licensed under this Part (see section 61(1)) but is not so licensed, an offence is committed by— (a)any person within subsection (1A) … (a)any person having control of or managing the HMO, and (b)any person who is the landlord or licensor in relation to a person occupying the HMO under a tenancy or licence. ↩

  14. Housing Act 2004, s. 95(1). If a house is required to be licensed under this Part (see section 85(1)) but is not so licensed, an offence is committed by— (a)any person within subsection (1A) ↩

  15. Notice of Designation of Areas for Selective Licencing 2026, Notice. a person who operates a licensable property without a licence is liable to prosecution and on summary conviction to an unlimited fine. The Council, as an alternative to initiating a prosecution, may pursue one or more of a range of other enforcement actions including the imposition of a financial penalty of up to £40,000 ↩

  16. Housing Act 2004, s. 249A(2) and (4). The maximum was raised to £40,000 on 1 May 2026. section 72 (licensing of HMOs) … section 95 (licensing of houses under Part 3) … must not be more than … £40,000 Sum in s. 249A(4) substituted (1.5.2026) ↩

  17. Property licensing register. Brighton & Hove City Council. would like to report an unlicensed property ↩

  18. Rent Repayment Orders: guidance for tenants. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 2026. 1. Offences in relation to unlicensed HMOs 2. Offences in relation to unlicensed houses Housing and Planning Act 2016, s. 40(3). section 72(1) [F3offences relating to unlicensed HMOs] section 95(1) [F4offences relating to unlicensed houses] ↩

  19. Rent Repayment Orders: guidance for tenants, Your eligibility for an RRO. your landlord does not need to have been convicted of or given a financial penalty for the offence for you to successfully apply for an RRO ↩

  20. Rent Repayment Orders: guidance for tenants, How much money to apply for. If you are applying because of one of these offences, you can apply for up to two years’ worth of rent you paid for the period in which the offence was ongoing. … failure to license a property as it should be The final amount of the RRO will be decided by the FTT. Housing and Planning Act 2016, s. 44(4)(a). In determining the amount the tribunal must, in particular, take into account— (a)the conduct of the landlord and the tenant ↩

  21. Rent Repayment Orders: guidance for tenants, When to apply for an RRO. You can apply for an RRO at any point within two years of your landlord committing an offence. You can still apply for an RRO after you have moved out Housing and Planning Act 2016, s. 41(2)(b). the offence was committed in the period of [F22 years] ending with the day on which the application is made. ↩

  22. Rent Repayment Orders: guidance for tenants, introduction. For offences committed before 1 May 2026 different rules apply. For example, the maximum amount repayable is one year’s rent rather than two years’ rent, and the tenant must apply within one year of the offence being committed, instead of two years. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026, reg. 11. (b)where a person commits an offence mentioned in row 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 of the table in section 40(3) of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (introduction and key definitions) for a continuous period starting before 1st May 2026 and ending on or after that date, in relation to the period falling before 1st May 2026. ↩

  23. Rent Repayment Orders: guidance for tenants, Rent paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. You cannot apply for an RRO for any rent paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. Your council can apply for an RRO for rent paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. ↩

  24. Rent Repayment Orders: guidance for tenants, Preparing to apply. You must prove every part of the offence to the FTT (Property Chamber) beyond reasonable doubt. When you submit your application to the FTT, you will be asked to pay an application fee. ↩

  25. Rent Repayment Orders: guidance for tenants, When to apply for an RRO. Your landlord cannot evict you because you have applied for an RRO. ↩