South East · Council licensing
Landlord licensing in Southampton
✓ Hand-verified 20 Aug 2026Southampton 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.
One payment.
Southampton, read 20 August 2026
Southampton operates no selective licensing designation under s.80. The council's only discretionary scheme is the additional HMO licensing designation in force 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2030 across nine wards: Banister and Polygon, Bevois, Bargate, Portswood, Swaythling, Bassett, Freemantle, Shirley, Millbrook. The licence fees page, the HMO licensing policy and the July 2025 designation notice present mandatory and additional licensing only; no s.80 designation, public notice or consultation appears on southampton.gov.uk or its ModernGov portal. Settled negative by absence across the pages whose purpose is to tell landlords what licence they need. Distinguished from Portsmouth, whose additional scheme from 1 April 2026 belongs to a different authority, and from Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, Test Valley and Winchester. Established 20 Aug 2026.
Southampton operates an additional licensing scheme covering nine wards: Banister and Polygon, Bevois, Bargate, Portswood, Swaythling, Bassett, Freemantle, Shirley and Millbrook. The designation runs for five years, from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2030. It requires all smaller houses in multiple occupation, meaning those with fewer than five occupants, and HMOs within purpose-built accommodation blocks to be licensed within the designated wards. That brings smaller shared homes into licensing below the five-occupant threshold of the national mandatory regime. Landlords had three months from the scheme starting on 1 October 2025 to apply; applications after that window attract a higher fee. Mandatory HMO licensing continues to apply separately wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households. The scheme covers nine wards rather than the whole city, so an address should be checked against the designation rather than assumed from its postcode.
Areas: Nine wards: Banister and Polygon, Bevois, Bargate, Portswood, Swaythling, Bassett, Freemantle, Shirley, Millbrook. Covers smaller HMOs of 3 or 4 persons and certain purpose-built student blocks. Approved 17 June 2025, effective 26 June 2025, in force 1 October 2025
One payment.
Southampton, read 20 August 2026
Scheme runs until: 30 September 2030
Common questions
Does Southampton have a selective licensing scheme?
No. Southampton 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 Southampton have an additional HMO licensing scheme?
Yes. Southampton 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 Southampton?
A mandatory HMO licence is required anywhere in England and Wales, including Southampton, 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 Southampton: areas, dates and fees →
All property licensing in South East →
Source: Southampton licensing page →
Every landlord in Southampton 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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