How many South East councils operate selective or additional licensing?

7 of the 64 councils we track in South East operate at least one discretionary licensing scheme — 11%. Mandatory HMO licensing applies in all of them regardless, wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households.

Does a licence in one South East council cover a property in another?

No. Each designation is made by a single local authority under the Housing Act 2004 and applies only within that authority's area. A landlord with property in two South East councils needs a licence from each where a scheme applies.

Property licensing in South East

7 of the 64 councils we track in South East operate a selective or additional HMO licensing scheme — 11%. Mandatory HMO licensing applies in every one of them regardless, wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households. A licence from one council never covers a property in another.

What a licence costs in South East

Across the 48 councils in South East where we hold a published fee, the figures we have read run from £317 (New Forest, mandatory HMO) to £2,387 (Arun, mandatory HMO). That is 56 fees in total, taken from each council's own published schedule and shown in full on its page — most are banded by property size or unit count, so the headline is a starting point rather than the price. A fee is never a penalty: letting unlicensed where a scheme applies risks far more than the difference between the two figures above.

Councils with a scheme

Arun

Additional HMO →

Brighton and Hove

Selective →Additional HMO →

Oxford

Selective →Additional HMO →

The rest of South East

No discretionary scheme is established for these councils. That means either the council has confirmed it operates none, or we have not established a position — each page says which. It never means a licence is definitely not needed: mandatory HMO licensing still applies, and a council can designate at any time.

Adur · Ashford · Basingstoke and Deane · Bracknell Forest · Buckinghamshire · Canterbury · Cherwell · Chichester · Crawley · Dartford · Dover · East Hampshire · Eastbourne · Eastleigh · Elmbridge · Epsom and Ewell · Fareham · Folkestone and Hythe · Gosport · Gravesham · Guildford · Hart · Hastings · Havant · Horsham · Isle of Wight · Lewes · Maidstone · Medway · Mid Sussex · Milton Keynes · Mole Valley · New Forest · Reigate and Banstead · Rother · Runnymede · Rushmoor · Sevenoaks · Slough · South Oxfordshire · Spelthorne · Surrey Heath · Swale · Tandridge · Test Valley · Thanet · Tonbridge and Malling · Tunbridge Wells · Vale of White Horse · Waverley · Wealden · West Berkshire · West Oxfordshire · Winchester · Windsor and Maidenhead · Wokingham · Worthing

Free compliance audit →Five questions, no account. Tells you which duties apply to your property.Check your tenancy agreement →Clauses that stopped being lawful on 1 May 2026 are still in circulation.

Information tool, not legal advice. Confirm the position with the council before letting.