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Houses in multiple occupation additional licensing

The local council can make a scheme to cover some or all HMOs in some or all of its district. The scheme must be approved by the Department of Communities and Local Government before it can be implemented.

We have made an additional licensing scheme which has been given this approval. It came into effect on 1 July 2009 and will last for 5 years. The area covered by this scheme is shown in the map below:

ADDLIC area map

The principal streets contained within this area are:

Alexandra Road Dogsthorpe Road Lammas Road Shelly Close
Allen Road Dryden Road Lawn Avenue Sheridan Road
Alma Road   Limetree Avenue Silverwood Road
  Eaglesthorpe Lincoln Road Springfield Road
Bamber Street   Lister Road St James Avenue
Beech Avenue English Street Lynton Road St Martins Street
Belham Road Exeter Road   St Pauls Road
Boswell Close   Norfolk Street Stone Lane
Bourges Boulevard Fulbridge Road (part) Northfield Road Summerfield Road
Bright Street   Norton Road  
Brownlow Street Gilpin Street   Taverners Road
Burmer Road Gladstone Street Occupation Road Tennyson Avenue
Burns Close Gray Court Oxford Road Thistlemoor Road
Cambridge Avenue Green Lane    
Cecil Road   Parliament Street Vere Road
Chaucer Avenue Hankey Street Peveril Road  
Clare Road Harris Street Pope Way Warbon Avenue
Clarence Road Herrick Close Portland Road  
Cobden Avenue Highbury Street   Waterloo Road
Cobden Street   Russell Street Westgate
Cowper Road Keats Way   Wilberforce Road
Craig Street Keeton Road Searjeant Street Windmill Street
Cromwell Road Kipling Court Scotney Street  
Crown Street   Shakespeare Avenue York Road

It requires that all HMO which comprise two or more storeys and occupied by three or more persons living in two or more households within this area is licensed. It should be noted that both sides of the residential streets forming the boundary of the scheme are subject to the scheme. To operate an HMO of this type, the manager or other relevant person (landlord, owner, etc.) must apply for a licence and pay the fee. The current fee is £80 per let room (bathrooms and separate kitchens are not included, even if they are exclusive to a letting). When we are satisfied that the licence holder and manager are fit and proper persons to hold a licence, and that the house is reasonably suitable for use by a given number of people, we must issue a licence. Tacit consent will apply in this instance, and once we accept an application, the house can be occupied as a HMO until such time as the licence is either issued or refused, but we may place conditions on the interim occupation. We aim to either issue or refuse a licence, within 8 weeks of acknowledging receipt. Following acknowledgement of your application, you will be contacted by the Enforcement Officer dealing with your application to make an appointment to inspect the property.

If we refuse to issue a licence, and we must give the reasons for this, you have a right to appeal that decision to the Residential Property Tribunal within 28 days of the decision being made.

Your licence will contain a set of mandatory licence conditions, which are required by the Housing Act 2004. It may also contain conditions imposed by us. These may be permanent conditions or may relate to works which are required to be done within a specified period of time. You have a right to appeal these imposed conditions to the Residential Property Tribunal.

It is an offence to operate or manage a HMO which should be licensed without a licence. The maximum fine on conviction is £20000. This could also mean that the person convicted is considered not to be a fit and proper person to hold a licence, which means that they would be unable to hold a licence for a HMO anywhere in England, nor could they be a manager.

It is also possible for a rent repayment order to be made against the convicted person which would require the repayment of all rents received from people living in the property during the period it was being used as an unlicensed HMO, to a maximum of 12 months. These orders could apply to any housing benefit payments made by the local authority as well as any amount paid by the tenants. We are required to maintain a public register of all licensed HMOs. This can be viewed online at or alternatively it is available to view during office hours (9.00am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday) at Bayard Place. We would ask that you make an appointment to examine the file by contacting Private Sector Housing on (01733) 747474.

Independent associations exist to help landlords in many ways including providing advice and support as well as representing their members at national and local level. The National Landlords Association can be contacted at www.tso.co.uk

It is also possible for a rent repayment order to be made against the convicted person which would require the repayment of all rents received from people living in the property during the period it was being used as an unlicensed HMO, to a maximum of 12 months. These orders could apply to any housing benefit payments made by the local authority as well as any amount paid by the tenants. We are required to maintain a public register of all licensed HMOs. This can be viewed online at or alternatively it is available to view during office hours (9.00am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday) at Bayard Place. We would ask that you make an appointment to examine the file by contacting Private Sector Housing on (01733) 747474.