Brighton Landlord Licence Renewal and Expiry: Scheme Dates, Re-Licensing Fees, and the 2029 Deadline

Licence Term vs Scheme Expiry: They're Different

One of the most common points of confusion among Brighton landlords: your individual licence has its own term, and the licensing scheme has a separate end date. They don't necessarily align.

Individual licences can be granted for up to five years, starting from the date of issue.

Scheme expiry dates are fixed:

• Selective Licensing (Scheme 1): expires 1 September 2029
• Additional HMO Licensing: expires 30 June 2029
• Mandatory HMO Licensing: no expiry (it's a permanent national scheme)

If you received a selective licence in September 2024 when the scheme launched, your licence could run the full five years to September 2029 — matching the scheme end date. But if you applied in 2026, the licence still can't extend beyond 1 September 2029, so you'll get a shorter licence term.

The practical consequence: a licence applied for late into a scheme's life gives you less coverage for the same fee.

Mandatory HMO Renewal Fees

Mandatory HMO licences, being part of the permanent national scheme, work on a straightforward renewal cycle. Submit your re-licensing application before the current licence expires to access the lower renewal fee:

If you miss the expiry date and submit after the licence has lapsed, the application is treated as a new late application — not a renewal. You'll pay the higher late fee (£1,027 for 5 occupants, rising with property size), lose all discount eligibility, and be exposed to unlicensed operation penalties for the gap period.

Selective and Additional Licences: No Renewal Within the Scheme

Because Brighton's selective and additional HMO schemes are fixed-term designations (both running to 2029), there's no mid-scheme renewal process. You apply once, pay once, and the licence runs until the scheme expires.

The question becomes what happens in 2029 when the schemes end. The council will need to re-designate if it wants to continue licensing. If it does, landlords will likely need to submit fresh applications under the new designation. Watch for council announcements as the scheme end dates approach.

What Happens When You Sell

A property licence cannot be transferred to another person under any circumstances. When a licensed property is sold, the seller's licence terminates automatically on completion of sale — no refund is given for the remaining licence term.

The buyer must submit a new licence application in their own name on or before the completion date. If tenants remain in the property after completion and no application has been submitted, the property is legally unlicensed from the day of sale.

When the Licence Holder Dies

A statutory temporary exemption applies automatically for three months after the licence holder's death, giving personal representatives time to settle the estate, sell the property, or submit a new application in a new name.

Setting Reminders

Set a diary reminder 90 days before any licence or scheme expiry date. For mandatory HMO licences, that means tracking your individual expiry. For selective and additional licences, the critical dates are 1 September 2029 and 30 June 2029 respectively — but council announcements about re-designation will likely come earlier.

The Brighton and Hove Landlord Licensing Guide includes a renewal and compliance diary worksheet for tracking all critical dates.

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