How to Prepare a Brighton HMO Licence Application Yourself

You don't need a letting agent or a surveyor to apply for an HMO licence in Brighton and Hove. The application is a web form on the council's Mendix portal, and every document it asks for is something you either already have or can prepare yourself — including the floor plan. The catch is that the portal collects a non-refundable Part A fee before you upload anything, so arriving unprepared is expensive.

This walkthrough covers the preparation phase: getting every document and measurement ready before you touch the portal, so you submit once and get it right.

Before you start: confirm which HMO scheme applies

Brighton and Hove runs two HMO licensing schemes, and the application route differs:

Mandatory HMO licensing applies if your property has five or more occupants forming two or more separate households, regardless of the number of storeys. This is national law — it applies everywhere in England.

Additional HMO licensing is Brighton's local scheme, covering the entire city. It applies to HMOs with three or four occupants from two or more households in a property of two or more storeys.

Both schemes use the same Mendix portal, but the fee structure differs. Additional HMO licences cost £883 (single tenancy) or £1,127 (separate tenancies) at standard rate. Mandatory HMO fees use a separate schedule based on occupant and tenancy profile; for example, the standard fee is £906 for a five-occupant single-tenancy mandatory HMO. The distinction between single tenancy and separate tenancies matters for the fee, not for whether you need a licence.

If you're not sure which scheme applies, the decision turns on three numbers: how many people live in the property, how many separate households they form, and how many storeys the building has. A couple and two individual tenants in a two-storey house is four people, three households — that's an additional HMO.

The document stack: what you need and where to get it

The portal asks for these documents in order. Gather them all before paying the Part A fee.

Gas safety certificate (CP12)

A current Gas Safe registered engineer's report covering all gas appliances and flues in the property. Must be dated within the last 12 months. If you don't have one, budget £60–£100 for a single-appliance check; more for multiple appliances.

Electrical installation condition report (EICR)

A report from a qualified electrician confirming the fixed wiring is satisfactory. The report must be dated within the last five years. New installations need an EICR within five years of the installation date. Budget £150–£300 depending on property size.

Energy performance certificate (EPC)

A valid EPC rated E or above. If your property currently has an EPC, check its validity date — they last 10 years. A £75 fee discount is available for a valid EPC rated C or higher, or rated D or E where the property has reached its maximum potential rating.

Portable appliance testing (PAT)

PAT certificates for any electrical appliances you provide (fridges, washing machines, tumble dryers). If you don't provide appliances, note this on the application — the portal still asks for a response.

Fire safety documentation

For HMOs, the council expects evidence of adequate fire precautions: fire alarm certificates (interlinked mains-powered smoke detectors on every floor for most HMOs), fire blanket provision in kitchens, fire doors where required by the property's risk assessment. The precise requirements scale with property size and layout.

Tenancy agreements

Current tenancy agreements or licence-to-occupy agreements for every tenant. The portal uses these to verify occupancy numbers, household composition, and tenancy type.

Floor plan with room measurements

This is the document most landlords assume they need a surveyor for. You don't.

Drawing the floor plan yourself

The council needs a floor plan that shows:

• Room layout for every floor, drawn roughly to scale
• Room use labels (bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, communal living room, hallway)
• Usable floor area in square metres for each room
• Ceiling heights for any room used as sleeping accommodation
• Location of fire safety equipment (smoke detectors, fire doors, fire blankets, extinguishers)

You can draw this on graph paper, use a free app like MagicPlan or RoomScan, or sketch it in any drawing tool. The council doesn't require an architect's drawing — they need a clear layout with accurate measurements.

Measuring rooms: Use a laser measure (£15–£25 from any hardware shop) or a standard tape measure. Measure length and width in metres, calculate the area (length × width), and write it on the plan. For L-shaped rooms, split into two rectangles and add the areas.

Ceiling heights: Measure from finished floor to ceiling in each bedroom and any room used for sleeping. The minimum usable floor area for a single bedroom occupied by one person aged 10 or over is 6.5m²; floor space where the ceiling is below 1.5 metres is excluded from the room measurement.

Annotations the council expects: label each room with its use, write the area in m² inside the room outline, mark smoke detector positions with a standard symbol, and note fire door locations if applicable.

A clear hand-drawn plan with accurate measurements is accepted. The portal uploads it as a PDF or image file. If you're using graph paper, photograph it with good lighting and convert to PDF.

The fee structure and how to reduce it

HMO licence fees in Brighton are split into two parts:

Part A (application processing): paid when you submit the application. This is non-refundable — if the application is rejected, you lose this fee. For an additional HMO, the council communicates the Part A and Part B amounts in the portal; the standard total is £883 for a single tenancy or £1,127 for separate tenancies.

Part B (licence grant): invoiced after the application is assessed and approved. You have 10 working days to pay Part B. Miss this deadline and the council can forfeit the entire application — you'd need to start over and pay Part A again.

Available discounts:

• £75 off if you provide a valid EPC rated C or higher, or rated D or E where the property has reached its maximum potential rating
• £75 off if you hold qualifying landlord accreditation through iHowz, the NRLA, or Safeagent; a managing agent who holds the licence can also qualify if they are a Propertymark associate member

Both discounts apply to the total fee, so a landlord with a qualifying EPC and accreditation saves £150 on the standard rate. You claim them during the application by uploading evidence — the EPC reference number and your accreditation certificate or membership number.

Portal submission: the order of operations

1. Create an account on the Brighton & Hove council licensing portal (Mendix platform)
2. Select the correct scheme — additional HMO or mandatory HMO
3. Enter property details — address, number of storeys, number of habitable rooms
4. Enter occupant details — number of tenants, household composition, tenancy type
5. Pay Part A — card payment, non-refundable
6. Upload documents — the portal opens document upload fields after Part A payment
7. Submit and wait — allow several weeks for assessment; council processing times vary
8. Receive Part B invoice — pay within 10 working days
9. Licence issued — the term can be up to five years, but an Additional HMO licence under the current scheme expires no later than 30 June 2029

The critical gate is step 5: once Part A is paid, you're committed. Every document should be ready before you reach this step.

Who This Is For

• Self-managing landlords applying for a Brighton HMO licence for the first time
• Landlords who want to prepare their own floor plan instead of hiring a surveyor
• Anyone who wants a pre-flight checklist before paying the non-refundable Part A fee
• Landlords converting a single-let to a shared house who need to understand the HMO process

Who This Is NOT For

• Landlords applying for selective licensing only (different fee structure, fewer document requirements)
• Portfolio landlords who already have established application processes
• Anyone looking for help with an enforcement notice or penalty already issued

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I really not need a surveyor for the floor plan?

No. The council accepts a clear, accurately measured layout drawing from anyone. A laser measure and graph paper (or a free room-scanning app) produce a floor plan that meets the portal's requirements. Surveyors are useful for complex buildings (converted Victorian houses with unusual layouts), but for a standard terraced house or flat conversion, self-measurement is straightforward.

What happens if the council rejects my application?

The Part A fee is non-refundable. The council will explain the rejection reason — usually a missing document, insufficient fire safety provision, or a property condition issue. You can reapply after addressing the issue, but you'll pay Part A again.

How long does the application take to process?

Processing times vary. Allow several weeks for a straightforward application with all documents in order. Complex cases (large HMOs, properties requiring additional fire safety works) can take longer. The council may arrange a property inspection before granting the licence.

Can I let the property while the application is being processed?

Yes. Once you've submitted a valid application and paid the Part A fee, you're treated as having applied for a licence. This doesn't exempt you from the licensing requirement, but it demonstrates you're in the process of complying. The key is that the application must be valid — all required documents submitted, correct scheme selected, fees paid.

What if my property appears to fall under both selective and HMO licensing?

Where HMO licensing applies, it takes precedence over selective licensing, so the property does not need two concurrent licences. A three- or four-person HMO in a single-storey property in a selective ward may instead require a selective licence; a qualifying HMO in a property of two or more storeys falls under the city-wide Additional HMO scheme.

For the complete document requirements, fee calculations, and decision sequence across all three Brighton licensing schemes, the Brighton and Hove Landlord Licensing Guide covers the full process in one dated reference — from "which licence do I need?" through to "application submitted, conditions understood."

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