South East · Council licensing
Landlord licensing in Arun
✓ Hand-verified 20 Aug 2026Arun operates discretionary property licensing. Letting an unlicensed property where a scheme applies risks a civil penalty of up to £30,000 and a rent repayment order — check whether your property is covered below.
Required for any HMO let to 5 or more people forming 2+ households who share facilities.
Paid in two parts — one on application, the balance before the licence is issued.
| Part 1 | £1,942 |
| Part 2 | £445 |
| Total | £2,387 |
| Each occupant | £50 |
- No fee is payable for a fully self-contained let within the house. , labelled Fees and charges 2026-27, effective from 1 April 2026
- Pre-application advice £180 then £81 per hour; online application assistance £81 per hour; copy documentation £25
Arun — arun.gov.uk, read 19 Aug 2026
Arun operates no selective licensing designation under s.80. The council HMO hub lists every regime it operates: mandatory HMO licensing and the Additional HMO Licensing Scheme designated 1 November 2024 covering River ward in Littlehampton and Hotham and Marine wards in Bognor Regis. No selective page, scheme or designation for ordinary private rented homes appears anywhere on arun.gov.uk. Settled negative by absence on the pages whose purpose is to tell landlords what licence they need. Distinguished from Adur, Worthing, Chichester and Horsham. Established 20 Aug 2026 from arun.gov.uk/hmo/.
Arun operates an additional HMO licensing scheme covering the River, Marine and Hotham wards. The designation was made on 1 November 2024 and came into force on 1 February 2025. It catches smaller houses in multiple occupation, meaning those occupied by three or four people, and section 257 HMOs, which are buildings converted into flats that do not meet the 1991 Building Regulations standard. The council introduced it to raise standards in smaller shared homes that fall outside mandatory licensing. Because the scheme covers three wards rather than the whole district, an address should be checked against the designation rather than assumed from its postcode. Mandatory HMO licensing continues to apply separately wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households.
Areas: River, Marine and Hotham wards
Paid in two parts — one on application, the balance before the licence is issued.
Arun, read 20 August 2026
Scheme runs until: 31 January 2030
Common questions
Does Arun have a selective licensing scheme?
No. Arun does not currently operate a selective licensing scheme. Mandatory HMO licensing still applies wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households.
Does Arun have an additional HMO licensing scheme?
Yes. Arun operates an additional HMO licensing scheme. Letting a property covered by it without a licence risks a civil penalty of up to £30,000, a rent repayment order of up to twelve months' rent, and the loss of the right to serve a section 21 notice.
Do I need an HMO licence in Arun?
A mandatory HMO licence is required anywhere in England and Wales, including Arun, where a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households who share basic amenities. Smaller shared houses may also need a licence where an additional licensing scheme applies.
- Free landlord compliance check — five questions, no account
- Tenancy agreement checker — findings cited to the Act and section
Additional HMO licensing in Arun: areas, dates and fees →
All property licensing in South East →
Source: Arun licensing page →
Every landlord in Arun also needs
A valid Gas Safety certificate (annual), an EICR (every 5 years), a valid EPC, a protected deposit, smoke & CO alarms, the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet, and a current How to Rent guide — plus the new Section 8 possession rules since Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026.
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