East of England · Council licensing
Landlord licensing in Brentwood
✓ Hand-verified 20 Aug 2026Beyond mandatory HMO licensing, Brentwood does not currently operate a selective or additional licensing scheme. Here's the current position.
Required for any HMO let to 5 or more people forming 2+ households who share facilities.
One payment.
- Renewal £603
Brentwood — brentwood.gov.uk, read 19 Aug 2026
Brentwood operates no selective licensing designation under s.80 of the Housing Act 2004. Its landlord-facing HMO page presents mandatory HMO licensing as the only licensing type in the borough, stating the trigger in its own words: a property is a large HMO "if it is occupied by five or more persons and it is occupied by persons living in more than one single household", which is the national mandatory threshold, and the page lists only the mandatory fees of £890 new and £603 renewal for a five-year licence. The private housing landing page lists every private housing subtopic and contains no selective licensing page. A committee-portal sweep of brentwood.moderngov.co.uk covering 2020 to August 2026 found no cabinet report, decision, public notice, consultation or feasibility study proposing a selective designation; the only HMO committee item located is a 2017 verbal update on Essex-wide HMO standards guidance. the London Borough of BRENT operates selective and additional schemes and dominates search results for this name; Thurrock and Havering also operate live schemes; none belong to Brentwood. Local Government Reorganisation is due to merge Brentwood into a Mid Essex unitary with Chelmsford and Maldon from April 2028, which will change the licensing authority. Established 20 Aug 2026 from brentwood.gov.uk.
Brentwood operates no additional HMO licensing scheme under s.56 of the Housing Act 2004. The council HMO page gives the general three-person HMO definition but requires a licence only for a large HMO of five or more persons in two or more households, the national mandatory threshold, so three and four person HMOs in Brentwood need no licence. No designation notice, public notice, consultation or committee decision proposing an additional scheme appears on brentwood.gov.uk or brentwood.moderngov.co.uk between 2020 and August 2026, and the council consultations register lists no property licensing consultation. The mandatory fee of £890 new and £603 renewal is the only licence fee the council publishes. the London Borough of Brent designated a borough-wide additional scheme from 2 February 2026 and Thurrock from 7 September 2025; neither is Brentwood. Established 20 Aug 2026 from brentwood.gov.uk and the Brentwood ModernGov portal.
Common questions
Does Brentwood have a selective licensing scheme?
No. Brentwood 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 Brentwood have an additional HMO licensing scheme?
No. Brentwood does not currently operate an additional HMO licensing scheme. Mandatory HMO licensing still applies wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households.
Do I need an HMO licence in Brentwood?
A mandatory HMO licence is required anywhere in England and Wales, including Brentwood, 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
All property licensing in East of England →
Source: Brentwood licensing page →
Every landlord in Brentwood 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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