THE PROPERTY FILTER TAKE
Councils are rejecting HMO licence applications on administrative technicalities - such as submitting an 'additional' form instead of a 'mandatory' one - then issuing Civil Penalty Fines exceeding £5,000 for operating an unlicensed property.
The rejection strips landlords of their statutory protection under the Housing Act 2004, leaving them immediately exposed to penalties even when the underlying licence conditions are identical.
You may wish to speak to a specialist HMO licensing adviser before submitting any application, particularly in areas where mandatory and additional licensing schemes run in parallel.
Councils are fining landlords more than £5,000 for submitting the wrong type of HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) licence application - even where the mandatory and additional licensing forms cover identical conditions. The tactic is increasingly common, according to property licensing specialists Landlord Licensing & Defence, and it exploits a gap in statutory protection that most landlords do not know exists.
How a Form Tick-Box Becomes a £5,000+ Fine
The mechanism is straightforward. A landlord submits an HMO licence application. The council decides the landlord chose the wrong form type - 'additional' instead of 'mandatory', for example. It refunds the application fee and rejects the submission.
That refund is the trap. Under the Housing Act 2004, a landlord who has an 'application duly made' retains statutory protection while the application is processed. Rejecting the submission removes that protection immediately. The landlord is then operating an unlicensed HMO - and the council can issue a Civil Penalty Fine (a financial penalty served outside of court proceedings).
In one case involving a Midlands authority, reported by Landlord Licensing & Defence, a landlord was fined more than £5,000 after exactly this sequence of events. The council refunded the licence fee and issued the fine. The landlord chose not to challenge at the First-tier Tribunal (the specialist court that hears housing and property disputes) due to concerns about reputational damage.
Phil Turtle, compliance director at Landlord Licensing & Defence, was direct about the legal position: "Councils have no legal right to refuse an HMO licence application simply because it was the 'wrong sort' of HMO application." The Housing Act 2004, he confirmed, provides no basis for refusing a duly made application on the grounds that the landlord did not understand the difference between two schemes with identical conditions.
The Council's Position - and Why It's Contested
Here is the detail that matters. As Turtle noted, licences issued by most councils are identical in content. They rarely state on the final document whether they are mandatory or additional in nature. The distinction exists in the application portal, not in the licence itself.
Despite this, the Midlands council in the reported case refused to accept it had created the situation. It kept the fine. The landlord - described by Turtle as having been "bullied into accepting the council's unlawful action as their own guilt" - backed down rather than fight.
That outcome sets a troubling precedent. Landlords who do not know their rights under the Housing Act 2004 are the most vulnerable. If the council requires you to select a specific form type and you get it wrong, the protection you assumed you had can vanish before the ink dries.
Check Your Licence Application Before You Submit
If you have an HMO in an area with both mandatory and additional licensing running simultaneously, the council requires you to identify which scheme applies before you submit. Getting this wrong is now a confirmed route to a fine.
Check with your council which scheme your property falls under before you start the application. If you are unsure whether your property needs a mandatory licence (which applies to larger HMOs with five or more tenants forming two or more households) or falls under an additional licensing scheme (which councils can introduce for smaller or different HMO types), speak to a specialist before submitting.
Turtle's summary of the situation was blunt: "By acting in this manner, councils are using pure bureaucracy as a weapon to generate enforcement revenue rather than to improve housing standards."
Key takeaways
Councils are rejecting HMO licence applications on administrative technicalities - such as submitting an 'additional' form instead of a 'mandatory' one - then issuing Civil Penalty Fines exceeding £5,000 for operating an unlicensed property.
The rejection strips landlords of their statutory protection under the Housing Act 2004, leaving them immediately exposed to penalties even when the underlying licence conditions are identical.
You may wish to speak to a specialist HMO licensing adviser before submitting any application, particularly in areas where mandatory and additional licensing schemes run in parallel.
Related Property Filter resources
Councils are fining landlords more than £5,000 for submitting the wrong type of HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) licence application - even where the mandatory and additional licensing forms cover identical conditions. The tactic is increasingly common, according to property licensing specialists Landlord Licensing & Defence, and it exploits a gap in statutory protection that most landlords do not know exists.
How a Form Tick-Box Becomes a £5,000+ Fine
The mechanism is straightforward. A landlord submits an HMO licence application. The council decides the landlord chose the wrong form type - 'additional' instead of 'mandatory', for example. It refunds the application fee and rejects the submission.
That refund is the trap. Under the Housing Act 2004, a landlord who has an 'application duly made' retains statutory protection while the application is processed. Rejecting the submission removes that protection immediately. The landlord is then operating an unlicensed HMO - and the council can issue a Civil Penalty Fine (a financial penalty served outside of court proceedings).
In one case involving a Midlands authority, reported by Landlord Licensing & Defence, a landlord was fined more than £5,000 after exactly this sequence of events. The council refunded the licence fee and issued the fine. The landlord chose not to challenge at the First-tier Tribunal (the specialist court that hears housing and property disputes) due to concerns about reputational damage.
Phil Turtle, compliance director at Landlord Licensing & Defence, was direct about the legal position: "Councils have no legal right to refuse an HMO licence application simply because it was the 'wrong sort' of HMO application." The Housing Act 2004, he confirmed, provides no basis for refusing a duly made application on the grounds that the landlord did not understand the difference between two schemes with identical conditions.
The Council's Position - and Why It's Contested
Here is the detail that matters. As Turtle noted, licences issued by most councils are identical in content. They rarely state on the final document whether they are mandatory or additional in nature. The distinction exists in the application portal, not in the licence itself.
Despite this, the Midlands council in the reported case refused to accept it had created the situation. It kept the fine. The landlord - described by Turtle as having been "bullied into accepting the council's unlawful action as their own guilt" - backed down rather than fight.
That outcome sets a troubling precedent. Landlords who do not know their rights under the Housing Act 2004 are the most vulnerable. If the council requires you to select a specific form type and you get it wrong, the protection you assumed you had can vanish before the ink dries.
Check Your Licence Application Before You Submit
If you have an HMO in an area with both mandatory and additional licensing running simultaneously, the council requires you to identify which scheme applies before you submit. Getting this wrong is now a confirmed route to a fine.
Check with your council which scheme your property falls under before you start the application. If you are unsure whether your property needs a mandatory licence (which applies to larger HMOs with five or more tenants forming two or more households) or falls under an additional licensing scheme (which councils can introduce for smaller or different HMO types), speak to a specialist before submitting.
Turtle's summary of the situation was blunt: "By acting in this manner, councils are using pure bureaucracy as a weapon to generate enforcement revenue rather than to improve housing standards."
Key takeaways
Councils are rejecting HMO licence applications on administrative technicalities - such as submitting an 'additional' form instead of a 'mandatory' one - then issuing Civil Penalty Fines exceeding £5,000 for operating an unlicensed property.
The rejection strips landlords of their statutory protection under the Housing Act 2004, leaving them immediately exposed to penalties even when the underlying licence conditions are identical.
You may wish to speak to a specialist HMO licensing adviser before submitting any application, particularly in areas where mandatory and additional licensing schemes run in parallel.
