An additional HMO licensing scheme is a discretionary designation made by a local council under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004 that extends HMO licensing requirements to smaller Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) that fall below the mandatory licensing threshold.
Mandatory HMO licensing applies nationally to HMOs with five or more occupants forming two or more households. Additional licensing allows councils to extend this requirement to HMOs with three or four occupants forming two or more households in a specific designated area.
A council can introduce an additional licensing scheme where it considers that a significant proportion of HMOs in its area are being managed sufficiently ineffectively as to give rise to one or more particular problems. These problems might include poor property conditions, anti-social behaviour, or inadequate management standards.
Before introducing a scheme, councils must consult with affected landlords, tenants, and the local community for at least 10 weeks. The funds raised from licensing fees are ring-fenced and cannot be used for other council services.
Additional licensing applies only to HMOs - properties where at least three people from more than one household share facilities. Selective licensing applies to all privately rented properties in a designated area, including single-family lets.
A property could fall within both an additional licensing area and a selective licensing area if the council has designated overlapping schemes. In practice, councils typically design their schemes to avoid duplication.
| Feature | Additional Licensing | Selective Licensing |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | HMOs with 3-4 occupants (2+ households) | All private rentals |
| Trigger | Ineffective HMO management | Low demand, ASB, poor conditions, deprivation |
| Geographic scope | Designated areas only | Designated areas only |
According to Kamma, there are now 128 active licensing schemes across England (covering both selective and additional licensing), with 49 new schemes launched in 2025 alone. Nearly 70% of urban areas are covered by at least one scheme, rising to 88% in London.
The General Approval 2024, which came into force on 23 December 2024, removed the requirement for Secretary of State approval for selective licensing schemes. Additional licensing schemes have never required Secretary of State approval, but the broader trend of increasing licensing activity affects both types of scheme.
Operating an HMO without a required additional licence is a criminal offence under the Housing Act 2004. Penalties include:
Birmingham City Council, which operates one of the most comprehensive licensing programmes in England, issued £450,000 in fines by August 2025, having conducted over 12,000 inspections. Around one in four compliance inspections required landlords to take action to improve conditions.
Use the Tuxa property licence checker to instantly check whether your property falls within an additional licensing area. Enter your property address and we will tell you whether a licence is required and what type. With new schemes launching regularly and boundaries changing, manual checks on council websites are increasingly unreliable.
The fastest way to find out whether your property needs a licence is to use the Tuxa property licence checker — enter any UK address and get an instant result showing which schemes apply, scheme dates, and a direct link to the council's licensing page.