Check if you need a property licence and apply
Check if you need a property licence and apply
You must have a licence if you're a private landlord or managing agent of:
- shared accommodation that’s defined as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) anywhere in Bristol in which 5 or more unrelated people live (mandatory licensing scheme)
- an HMO in which 3 or 4 unrelated people live in the 12 wards of Central Bristol, or in Bedminster, Brislington West or Horfield wards (additional licensing schemes), see blue areas of map
- all other privately rented properties in Bedminster and Brislington West wards, including properties let to one or 2 people or to families (selective licensing scheme), see pink areas of map
If you're the landlord of a newly rented property you have 28 days to apply from when the property was occupied.
On 14 December 2021, Cabinet approved licensing schemes covering the electoral wards of Bedminster, Brislington West and Horfield.
Most privately rented properties in these wards will need to be licensed (HMOs only in Horfield).
The schemes will come into effect, and you can apply from the 6 April 2022.
You will have up to 3 months to submit a valid application. We will not consider enforcement for an unlicensed property until after the 6 July 2022.
View a copy of the Public Notice designating the schemes (pdf, 163KB) (opens new window) .
You can find more information in our press release.
Check if you need a licence
If you’re not sure if you need a licence, fill in the first part of the online application form and we'll work it out. If you need a licence you can continue to the rest of the form.
Registered providers
If you’re a registered provider of social housing and own or manage houses in multiple occupation you may not need a licence. The GOV.UK website has a list of registered providers.
Planning permission
When determining a property licence application, there's no requirement for the property to have planning consent.
However, to comply with planning legislation, planning consent may need to be obtained.
In certain areas of the city, Article 4 directions are in place which remove permitted development rights and you may need to submit a planning application for change of use between a dwelling house (Use Class C3) and a small House in Multiple Occupation (Use Class C4).
Before you start
You need a separate licence for each rented property.
To fill in the form, you'll need:
- an email address
- around 20 minutes to complete the form
- mortgage company details
- names, addresses and contact details of the owners, managing agents or anyone else with a legal interest in the property
- property details like the number and type of rooms
- details of other licence holders
- details of other properties you have a licence for in the UK
- payment card details to pay the part one fee
When you submit the application you must confirm that:
- you’ve made the appropriate checks that anybody involved in the property agrees to the fit and proper person declaration
- anybody involved in the property agrees to the legal declarations and doesn’t have unspent criminal convictions