Portsmouth HMO Licence Conditions: What Your Licence Requires

Every HMO licence issued by Portsmouth City Council comes with a set of conditions you are legally required to follow for the entire duration of the licence. Breaching a licence condition is an offence, and Portsmouth City Council may impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000 per offence, so knowing exactly what your licence demands is not optional.

Standard Conditions on Every Portsmouth HMO Licence

Portsmouth attaches conditions based on the Housing Act 2004 mandatory requirements plus locally-determined discretionary conditions. The standard package typically includes:

Occupancy limits. Your licence specifies the maximum number of occupants and households permitted. Exceeding these numbers — even temporarily — is a separate offence under Section 72(2) of the Housing Act 2004.

Safety certificate maintenance. You must keep current and valid:

• Annual gas safety certificate (Gas Safe registered engineer)
• Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) — satisfactory rating, valid within 5 years
• Fire risk assessment compliant with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
• Annual fire alarm and emergency lighting servicing certificates where these systems are installed
• Portable appliance testing for any landlord-supplied electrical items

Floor plan accuracy. The metric floor plan submitted with your application becomes part of the licence record. Any structural changes, room usage changes, or bedroom count increases require a formal licence variation through the Metastreet portal, accompanied by revised plans and updated safety certificates.

Management duties. Under the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006, you must maintain common parts (hallways, stairs, kitchens, bathrooms), keep fire escape routes clear, ensure water and drainage systems work, and maintain gas and electricity supplies.

Display requirements. The licence or a summary must be displayed in a communal area of the property where tenants can see it.

What the Fletcher Ruling Changed

The Upper Tribunal decision in Fletcher & Anor v Portsmouth City Council [2026] UKUT 234 (LC) overturned several conditions Portsmouth had been routinely attaching to licences. The Tribunal ruled that local authorities lack statutory authority to dictate internal tenancy agreement terms.

Conditions that Portsmouth can no longer lawfully impose include:

• Mandatory inventory clauses in tenancy agreements
• Prescribed rent payment schedules
• Requirements about how deposits must be described in tenancy terms

If your licence includes similar terms, the Fletcher ruling gives you grounds to challenge them, but it did not automatically amend other licences. Ask the council about a formal variation or get legal advice before treating a condition as unenforceable. For a detailed breakdown of the ruling and what it means in practice, see the Fletcher v Portsmouth analysis.

Conditions That Vary by Property

Beyond the standard set, Portsmouth may attach property-specific conditions based on what the inspection or application reveals:

• One-year licences often carry conditions requiring you to obtain missing documents (typically a fire risk assessment) within a set deadline
• Properties with planning concerns may have conditions requiring you to regularise C4 or sui generis planning status within the licence period
• Properties with previous complaints may carry enhanced management conditions or more frequent inspection requirements

The Notice of Intention to Grant sets out the proposed conditions before the licence is finalised. You have 14 days from receiving this notice to submit written representations if you disagree with any condition. This is your window to challenge conditions — doing so after the licence is issued requires a formal appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.

Staying Compliant: A Practical Checklist

Rather than waiting for a council inspection to discover a problem, build a recurring compliance check into your calendar:

• Monthly: smoke and CO alarm function test, check fire escape routes are unobstructed
• Annually: gas safety renewal, fire alarm and emergency lighting service, PAT testing
• Every 5 years: EICR renewal
• Before each tenancy change: verify occupancy stays within licence limits, update the council on any change of manager or managing agent
• 14+ days before licence expiry: submit renewal application (this qualifies you for the 5-year tier and lower renewal fee)

Keeping a paper trail — dated certificates filed alongside the licence — is the simplest protection against an enforcement visit. Council officers conducting HHSRS inspections or routine compliance checks must give at least 24 hours' written notice, except where emergency entry is justified. This gives you time to gather documents, but only if they are already in order.

The Landlord Licensing in Portsmouth guide includes a licence conditions tracker and renewal safety calendar that maps every certificate renewal date against your licence timeline.

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