Brighton HMO Public Register and Licence Check

Brighton & Hove City Council maintains a public property licensing register that anyone can search — landlords checking their own licence status, tenants verifying whether their home is properly licensed, and prospective buyers doing due diligence before purchasing a rental property.

The register is available on the council's website and is updated monthly. But it has important limitations that catch people out.

What the Register Shows

The public register lists granted licences only. For each entry you can typically see:

• The property address
• The licence type (selective, additional HMO or mandatory HMO)
• The licence holder's name
• The licence start and expiry dates
• The maximum permitted occupancy

The register covers all three licensing schemes operating across Brighton and Hove — the ward-specific selective licensing scheme (Kemptown, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queens Park, and Whitehawk & Marina), the city-wide additional HMO licensing scheme, and national mandatory HMO licensing.

What the Register Doesn't Show

Pending applications. If a landlord has submitted an application but it hasn't been processed yet, the property won't appear on the register. A property can be lawfully in the application pipeline for weeks or months without any public record.

Temporary Exemption Notices. A property covered by a granted TEN (valid for up to three months, extendable to six) is legally exempt from needing a licence during that period, but TENs are not published on the register.

Unlicensed properties. The register is a record of compliance, not non-compliance. A property that requires a licence but doesn't have one simply won't appear — the register doesn't flag it as unlicensed.

This means the register is useful for confirming that a licence exists, but the absence of a listing doesn't prove the property is unlicensed — it might be pending, exempt, or outside the scope of licensing entirely.

How to Use the Register as a Landlord

If you've applied for a licence and want to confirm it's been granted, the register is the quickest way to check. Bear in mind the monthly update cycle — a recently granted licence may not appear for several weeks.

For properties you're considering purchasing, searching the register tells you whether the current owner holds a valid licence. If the property is licensed, remember that licences cannot be transferred to a new owner. The seller's licence terminates automatically on completion of the sale, and you must submit a new application in your own name on or before the day ownership transfers. Allowing tenants to occupy the property after completion without a submitted application means operating unlicensed.

How to Use the Register as a Tenant

If you're renting in Brighton and Hove, the register lets you verify whether your landlord holds the right licence. If your property should be licensed (because of the ward it's in, the number of occupants and the number of households) but doesn't appear on the register, that could indicate unlicensed operation.

Tenants in unlicensed properties can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order — potentially recovering up to 24 months of gross rent for offences committed after 1 May 2026.

Address Checker Tools

Beyond the council's own register, several third-party tools offer postcode-level checks for licensing designations. Services like PropertyLicence.org.uk and PRSCheck provide instant lookups that confirm which scheme applies to a specific address. These tools are useful for the initial "does this property need a licence?" question, but they verify the designation, not whether a licence has actually been obtained.

For the complete decision sequence — working out which licence type applies, gathering the right documents, and navigating the council's online portal — our Brighton & Hove Landlord Licensing guide covers the entire process step by step.

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