Blackpool Mandatory HMO Licence — Rules, Fees and Room Sizes

Who Needs a Mandatory HMO Licence in Blackpool

A mandatory HMO licence applies to an HMO in Blackpool occupied by five or more people forming two or more separate households when the property meets a statutory building test. The tests include properties where households share or lack basic amenities; purpose-built flats in blocks of three or more self-contained flats are excluded. This is a national requirement under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004 and the Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018 — it covers all 21 Blackpool wards, not just the eight inner wards under selective licensing.

The critical distinction: selective licensing covers private rented properties in the eight inner wards that are not subject to mandatory HMO licensing and are not exempt; the scheme runs from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2030. Mandatory HMO licensing is permanent, borough-wide, and has no expiry date. If your property qualifies as a mandatory HMO, you need the HMO licence regardless of which ward it sits in. A mandatory HMO licence also overrides selective licensing — you cannot hold both for the same property.

Mandatory HMO Fees

The fees are higher than selective licensing. A new mandatory HMO licence costs £1,176, split into the same two-stage structure: Part 1 (processing) payable on application, Part 2 (grant and enforcement) invoiced once the council approves the licence. A renewal application costs £903.

Unlike selective licences, a mandatory HMO licence can run for up to five years from the date of grant. It is not tied to any local scheme designation, so it does not get shortened by the expiry of a local designation.

Minimum Room Sizes

Mandatory HMO licences carry prescribed minimum sleeping room sizes that do not apply to selective licences. These are set nationally, not by Blackpool Council:

• 6.51 m² for one person aged 10 or older
• 10.22 m² for two people aged 10 or older
• 4.64 m² for one child under 10
• Any room under 4.64 m² cannot be used as sleeping accommodation at all

Landlords must notify Blackpool Council of any room in the HMO with a floor area under 6.51 m². The council will set maximum occupancy numbers as a licence condition based on your floor plans.

Beyond sleeping rooms, shared kitchen and bathroom facilities must meet the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre amenity standards. One bathroom (with WC, basin and bath or shower) serves a maximum of five occupants. Kitchen facilities — worktop space, cooking rings, oven capacity and sink — must scale with the total number of residents.

HMO Licence Conditions

An HMO licence carries the same mandatory conditions as a selective licence (annual gas safety certificates, satisfactory EICR, working smoke and CO alarms, written tenancy agreement) plus additional requirements around room sizes, occupancy limits, and scaled amenity provision. The council specifies the maximum number of occupants and households permitted for each licensed property, and exceeding those numbers is a separate offence.

Scaled floor plans showing clear room dimensions, ceiling heights and fire escape routes are required at application. For selective licences, floor plans are only requested on inspection — for mandatory HMOs, they are part of the application pack.

How It Differs from Selective Licensing

If you are unsure whether your property is a mandatory HMO or falls under selective licensing, the council's self-service portal at selfservice.blackpool.gov.uk runs a screening questionnaire based on occupancy and household structure.

Our Blackpool landlord licensing guide walks through the classification decision, fee calculations for both licence types, and the full application process — including the document staging steps that prevent portal timeouts.

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