Additional HMO licensing · Reading Borough Council
Reading Borough Council Additional Licensing for Housing in Multiple Occupation Designation 2025
- Status
- In force
- Runs
- 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2031
- Designated
- 17 November 2025
- Fee
- £1,500 per property, paid in two parts: £750 with your application and £750 once the draft licence is issued. Home Safe, the council's delivery partner, lists a £250 late fee (making the first part £1,000) where the property has been lived in as an HMO for 12 weeks or more before you apply.
- Applies to
- Every HMO in Reading that doesn't need a mandatory licence: in practice houses and flats let to three or more people from two or more households, however many storeys. Exempt: converted blocks of flats (section 257 HMOs), though a flat inside one can still need a licence, and homes with a temporary exemption or under a management order.
Our records last verified 1 October 2026 · council designation page
Area covered
The scheme covers the whole of Reading Borough Council. Every privately rented property in the borough that meets the scheme’s criteria needs a licence, wherever it is.
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.
If you hold a licence here, HouseFile can track its renewal date
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