Brighton Selective Licence Fees: Part A, Part B, Discounts, and Late Penalties

The Two-Part Fee Structure

Brighton and Hove splits selective licence fees into two separate payments, and the timing of each matters more than most landlords realise.

Part A — £518. This is the processing fee. You pay it at the exact moment you submit your application online. It covers the council's costs for checking your documents, verifying your fit-and-proper status, and processing the application. Part A is non-refundable if your application is refused, rejected, cancelled because you did not respond, or voluntarily withdrawn. The council lists refunds for duplicate payments, verified exemptions, and cases where the wrong licence type was selected and the corrected fee is lower.

Part B — £222. This covers ongoing scheme administration — inspections, compliance monitoring, and enforcement. The council sends a payment link by email after they've processed your application and approved the draft licence. You get 10 working days to pay. If you miss the deadline, the application is invalidated and cancelled, Part A is forfeited, and the property remains unlicensed.

Total standard fee: £740.

Discounts You Can Claim

Three discount routes are available, each worth £75:

• EPC Band C or higher. If your property has a valid Energy Performance Certificate rated Band C or above at the time you apply. Properties that reach their maximum potential rating at Band D or E also qualify.
• Accredited landlord or agent. If you hold accreditation through iHowz, the NRLA, Safeagent, or if your managing agent is a Propertymark associate member.
• Registered charity. Registered charities also qualify for a £75 discount.

You can combine any two qualifying discounts for a maximum reduction of £150 per licence. That brings the total from £740 down to £590.

For landlords licensing multiple flats in a single block under one ownership, there's an additional £50 discount per flat from the second property onwards, on top of one £75 accreditation or EPC discount.

The discounts must be valid at the exact time you submit your application. They can't be applied retrospectively, and they're not available if you're applying late.

What a Late Application Costs

If your property has been let without a licence for more than 28 calendar days, the council classifies it as a late application. The total fee jumps to £840 — that's the standard £740 plus a £100 late charge.

Late applications also forfeit all discount eligibility. No EPC discount, no accreditation discount, no multi-property discount. The saving from getting your application in on time is substantial: a landlord who qualifies for two £75 discounts pays £590 on time versus £840 late — a £250 difference.

How to Protect Your Part A Payment

The most expensive mistake isn't paying the fee — it's having the application cancelled after you've already paid Part A. That happens when:

• You submit an incomplete application or don't provide requested missing or corrected documents within 28 days.
• You upload documents that don't meet standards (an expired Gas Safety Certificate, a floor plan without room measurements in square metres), which may prompt the council to request corrections.
• You fail to pay Part B within 10 working days, which invalidates and cancels the application.

If the council cancels the application after a 28-day non-response or failure to pay Part B within the 10-working-day window, Part A is forfeited and the property is legally unlicensed.

The Brighton and Hove Landlord Licensing Guide includes a fee calculator worksheet and a pre-upload document checklist designed to prevent exactly these scenarios.

See more England guides →