Additional HMO licensing · Arun District Council
Arun District Council Designation for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation 2024 (council page name: Additional HMO Licensing Scheme 2025)
- Status
- In force
- Runs
- 1 February 2025 to 31 January 2030
- Designated
- 1 November 2024
- Fee
- From 1 April 2026, £2,347 for a house or flat let to three or four people: £1,902 when you apply and £445 before the licence is issued. A converted block of flats (section 257 HMO) costs £2,468 for up to six flats or £2,589 for more than six, and a converted building with both shared and self-contained units costs £2,387, each with the same £445 second part. A licence lasts up to five years, and the full fee is due even if you apply partway through the scheme. Advice before you apply costs £180.
- Applies to
- HMOs in River ward in Littlehampton and Hotham and Marine wards in Bognor Regis that are let to three or four people from two or more households who share a toilet, washing or cooking facilities. It also covers converted blocks of flats where less than two thirds of the flats are owner-occupied (section 257 HMOs), and the shared hallways and other common parts of buildings where two or more flats share a hallway, unless the block was purpose-built and met the building regulations when it was built. HMOs with five or more people usually need a mandatory licence instead. Exempt: buildings the law says aren't HMOs, such as those run by the council, a housing association or the NHS, student halls, an owner's home with up to two lodgers and short-term holiday lets, and two flats sharing a small ground-floor lobby.
Our records last verified 18 October 2026 · council designation page · licence conditions
Area covered
The designation covers these wards, as they were drawn when the scheme was made:
- Hotham
- Marine
- River
Arun District Council also runs its own address-level lookup: check whether a specific address falls inside the scheme.
What this means for landlords
Additional HMO licensing extends licensing to shared homes below the national 5-person mandatory threshold. If your property in this area houses unrelated sharers, check the scheme’s occupancy criteria. Running a licensable HMO without a licence carries the same penalties as any licensing offence: a civil penalty of up to £40,000 and a rent repayment order of up to 24 months’ rent.
Is your property inside the scheme area?
This checker reflects HouseFile’s records of council licensing designations, not the councils’ live registers. Our records indicate the position at the verification date shown on each result. Schemes are designated, renewed and revoked throughout the year, and postcode-level lookups are approximate near scheme boundaries. Always confirm with the council before letting or buying a property, using the source link on each card. This is general information, not legal advice.
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