LetLens / Licensing by council / Birmingham

Landlord licensing in Birmingham

Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Birmingham let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Birmingham also runs additional HMO licensing and selective licensing, which can bring smaller HMOs, or every private rental, into licensing.

The licence you need turns on who lives in the property. Find the line that describes your let.

Required by national lawThe same in all 296 English councils. Not a Birmingham decision.
Your propertyLet to 5 or more people forming 2 or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet
You needMandatory HMO licence In force England-wide
It costs£1,125 for a 5-bedroom HMOband 5-5 occupants
WhereEverywhere in Birmingham, as everywhere in England. Scope, fee schedule and source
What Birmingham requires on topSchemes this council chose to run, and what differs from the council next door.
Your propertyA smaller shared house the national scheme does not reach, typically 3 or 4 sharers forming 2 or more households
You needAdditional HMO licence In force
It costs£755 for a 4-bedroom HMOband 3-+ flats
WhereEverywhere in Birmingham. Scope, fee schedule and source
Your propertyLet privately inside a designated area, whether or not it is an HMO
You needSelective licence In force
It costs£700 for a 5-bedroom rentalband 1-+ flats
Where25 designated wards, not the whole of Birmingham. Scope, fee schedule and source
Planning permission, a separate questionNot licensing. Whether you may create an HMO at all, decided by the council’s planning side.
Your planConverting a house (use class C3) into a small HMO (use class C4)
You needPlanning permission In force
WhereInside the designated area: the whole council area. There is no part of the council outside it. The direction, its dates and its boundary

Each fee is for the example property named on its own line, from the council’s published schedule. Other sizes are priced separately; the full schedules, discounts and surcharges are below.

Most recent source check: 6 August 2026. Each figure below carries the date its own source was read.

Or open B5 5RX, a postcode near the centre of Birmingham, to see what a full report looks like.

Each scheme in detail, and the evidence behind it

Which properties each scheme catches in Birmingham, in the council’s own words, with the designations in force, the whole published fee schedule and the source for every figure. The three regimes can stack: a property can need a licence under one and still be caught by another.

Mandatory HMO licensing In force England-wide

Set by national law, not by the council. Any property let to five or more people forming two or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet needs a licence, anywhere in England.

Fee, 5-bed HMO£1,125band 5-5 occupants

Where it applies: National scheme
Which properties: 5 or more occupants forming 2 or more households sharing a kitchen, bathroom or toilet (mandatory HMO licensing, nationwide since 2006, mandatory-size since the 3-storey rule removal Oct 2018); whole council area

The published fee schedule

Application route: £1,125 online
Renewal: £1,125
Licence term: Up to 5 years
Fee schedule dated: 2022/23

Fee by number of occupants
Size	Fee	Part 1 + part 2
5	£1,125	£420 + £705
6 to 11	£1,215	£470 + £745
12 or more	£1,300	£515 + £785

Surcharges

paper application to send (surcharge): £20
paper application to process (surcharge): £65
advice visit (optional service): £200

Council source · How to apply · read 6 August 2026

Additional HMO licensing In force

A council may extend HMO licensing to smaller HMOs, typically three or four sharers, across all or part of its area.

Fee, 4-bed HMO£755band 3-+ flats

Where it applies: Council-wide
Which properties: Smaller HMOs (Housing Act 2004 s.254) occupied by 3 or 4 persons comprising 2 or more households sharing amenities (i.e. HMOs not caught by mandatory licensing), plus s.257 converted-block HMOs where less than two-thirds of flats are owner-occupied
Designations in force: Birmingham City Council Designation of an Area for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation 2023
Designation period: 5 June 2023 to 4 June 2028

The published fee schedule

Application route: £755 online
Renewal: £755
Licence term: Up to 5 years
Fee schedule dated: 5 June 2023

Fee by number of units
Size	Fee
3 or more	£755

Council source · Designated area · read 6 August 2026

Selective licensing In force

A council may require a licence for every private rented home in a designated area, whether or not it is an HMO.

Fee, 5-bed rental£700band 1-+ flats

Where it applies: 25 designated wards
Which properties: All privately rented single-household properties (let/occupied under a tenancy or licence) within the 25 designated wards; excludes HMOs, RSL-let, educational-establishment-managed and other statutorily exempt properties
Designations in force: Birmingham City Council's Designation of an Area for Selective Licensing 2023
Designation period: 5 June 2023 to 4 June 2028

Birmingham City Council's Designation of an Area for Selective Licensing 2023 covers Acocks Green, Alum Rock, Aston, Balsall Heath West, Birchfield, Bordesley & Highgate, Bordesley Green, Bournbrook & Selly Park, Edgbaston, Gravelly Hill, Handsworth, Heartlands, Holyhead, Ladywood, Lozells, North Edgbaston, Small Heath, Soho & Jewellery Quarter, South Yardley, Sparkbrook & Balsall Heath East, Sparkhill, Stockland Green, Tyseley & Hay Mills, Ward End, Yardley West & Stechford.

A designation can cover only part of a named ward, so check the exact address rather than relying on the ward name alone.

The published fee schedule

Paid in two parts: £375 on application, then £325 when the licence is granted
Application route: £700 online
Renewal: £700
Licence term: Up to 5 years
Fee schedule dated: 5 June 2023

Fee by number of units
Size	Fee	Part 1 + part 2
1 or more	£700	£375 + £325

Council source · Designated area · read 6 August 2026

Article 4 and HMO planning permission in Birmingham In force

An HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Birmingham covering the whole council area, so the permitted-development right to convert a house (C3) into a small HMO (C4) has been removed and planning permission is needed there. Every one of Birmingham's 21,553 postcodes is inside a designated area.

HMO Article 4 direction, the whole council area

City Wide Article 4 Direction 2019 (Birmingham)

Area: the whole council area
Right removed: C3 to C4 (small HMO)
In force from: 8 June 2020

Council notice or order

A licence is not planning permission

These are two separate consents from two separate parts of the council, and getting one does not give you the other. A licensing team can grant an HMO licence for a property that needed planning permission and never got it.

Where the permission was needed and is missing, the usual consequence lands on the licence. Councils commonly grant a short licence, often twelve months rather than the full term, to give the owner time to apply. If permission is not applied for, is refused, or an appeal fails, the council will generally refuse to extend and let the licence expire, and will generally refuse a fresh application outright once permission has been finally refused. At that point the property cannot lawfully be let as an HMO at all.

This is council practice rather than a statutory rule, and it varies, so confirm it with Birmingham before you rely on it. Nottingham City Council publishes its version explicitly and is quoted here as a worked example of the approach.

Nottingham City Council, HMO and permitted development. Indicative only, not planning or legal advice.

The research note behind this verdict

Birmingham has a CITY-WIDE Article 4 direction removing C3->C4 (small HMO) permitted development across the whole city. The council states: 'Birmingham City Council made a decision to introduce a city-wide Article 4 Direction. This came in to force on Monday 8 June 2020' (https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20054/planning_strategies_and_policies/1933/new_city-wide_article_4_direction_and_cancellation_of_existing_selly_oak_harborne_and_edgbaston_article_4_direction_relating_to_houses_in_multiple_occupation_hmos, page last updated 16 May 2025). The sealed statutory confirmation notice (https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/14852/public_notice_for_city-wide_article_4_direction.pdf, dated 31 December 2019) confirms the City Wide Article 4 Direction 2019 was confirmed on 31 Dec 2019 and 'removes permitted development rights for this type of development from Monday 8 June 2020'. The earlier Selly Oak / Harborne / Edgbaston HMO direction (2014) does NOT still exist separately: the combined confirmation notice (https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/14855/public_notice_for_cancelled_direction.pdf) confirms 'The Selly Oak, Harborne and Edgbaston Article 4 Cancellation Direction 2019', which reinstates C3->C4 PD rights in that area and 'has been made to avoid duplication, as the City Wide Article 4 Direction 2019 will cover the Selly Oak, Harborne and Edgbaston areas', taking effect on the same day (8 June 2020). So the 2014 direction was superseded by, and folded into, the city-wide one. REGISTER CHECK: planning.data.gov.uk (dataset=article-4-direction-area, geometry_reference=E08000025) returns 13 entities; article-4-direction returns 0. Before that a Selly Oak postcode listed three directions, one revoked six years earlier. api/postcode_snapshot.py now also filters passed end_dates at QUERY time rather than relying on the next overlay rebuild.] No practical under/over-coverage results because the city-wide direction subsumes Selly Oak, but the register is wrong on both dates. No other HMO-related Article 4 was found on the council's planning-policy / local-plan indexes; the remaining 11 register entities are conservation-area Part 1/2 directions (rights 1A-2C), not HMO. An HMO Supplementary Planning Document adopted 26 April 2022 supplements, but does not change, the direction.

Birmingham Article 4 page · checked 26 July 2026

What happens if you let without a licence

Letting or managing an unlicensed property that needs a licence is a criminal offence, under section 72 of the Housing Act 2004 for an HMO and section 95 for a property caught by selective licensing. A council can prosecute, or impose a civil penalty instead. For conduct on or after 1 May 2026 that penalty can be up to £40,000 per offence, raised from £30,000 by the Financial Penalties (Housing Offences and Breach of Banning Orders) Regulations 2026. Tenants and the council can also apply for a rent repayment order, which for conduct from the same date can claw back up to two years of rent, up from one, under section 103 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

Both of those maxima apply only to conduct on or after 1 May 2026. Earlier conduct is still judged against the old £30,000 and twelve-month limits. Each breach is normally penalised separately, so an unlicensed portfolio in Birmingham multiplies the exposure rather than capping it.

Sources: Housing Act 2004 s72 · SI 2026/319 · Renters' Rights Act 2025 s103 · Shelter Legal England. Indicative only, not legal advice.

The letting market in Birmingham

Licensing is only one side of the sum. These are medians from real listings we have collected, with the number of listings behind each one, because a median over a handful of adverts is a different claim from a median over hundreds.

Median room rent£578 pcmFrom 1,094 room listings in Birmingham.
Median whole-property rent£1,157 pcmFrom 435 whole-property listings.
Typical 4-bed rent£1,758 pcmThe comparison a room-by-room let is measured against.
HMO income premium+64%Five rooms let individually against one four-bedroom whole-property let, before the extra cost, licensing and voids that come with an HMO.
Median sale price£245,000Across 2,065 sales in 2026, all property types, HM Land Registry.
Gross yield, whole let5.7%Median whole-property rent for a year against the median sale price. Before voids, management, repairs, licensing and finance, all of which a real return has to carry.
Gross yield, 5-room HMO14.2%Five rooms at the median room rent against the same median sale price. The higher figure is what pays for the licence, the extra management and the higher voids, rather than being profit on top of them.
Typical household income£35,463Mean of net small-area median incomes around the council's main listing areas, not a council-wide median.
Postcodes with flood exposure3.5%749 of 21,553 indexed postcodes.
Postcodes in Flood Zone 3390 (1.8%)The Environment Agency's highest-probability zone. Lenders and insurers ask about this one by name, and it is a subset of the exposure above.

Room rent by outcode

Room rent varies by £100 a month across Birmingham’s outcodes, so the council-wide median above is a starting point rather than the answer for a particular street.

Median room rent by outcode in Birmingham
Outcode	Median room rent	Room listings	Check a postcode
B18	£640 pcm	51	Check B18
B16	£600 pcm	175	Check B16
B29	£577 pcm	263	Check B29
B32	£550 pcm	48	Check B32
B24	£540 pcm	61	Check B24

Postcode districts in Birmingham

Licensing, Article 4 and the fee all turn on the exact address, because a designated area rarely follows the council boundary. LetLens holds 21,553 Birmingham postcodes. Open one of its postcode districts to see the verdict, the local rent evidence and the investment model.

Common questions

Do I need an HMO licence in Birmingham?

How much does an HMO licence cost in Birmingham?

£1,125 for a five-bedroom, five-person HMO under the mandatory scheme, from the council's published fee schedule. Fee basis: band 5-5 occupants. Larger or smaller properties, and any additional or selective scheme, are priced separately.

Is there an Article 4 direction in Birmingham?

Which wards in Birmingham are covered by licensing?

Selective licensing under Birmingham City Council's Designation of an Area for Selective Licensing 2023 covers Acocks Green, Alum Rock, Aston, Balsall Heath West, Birchfield, Bordesley & Highgate, Bordesley Green, Bournbrook & Selly Park, Edgbaston, Gravelly Hill, Handsworth, Heartlands, Holyhead, Ladywood, Lozells, North Edgbaston, Small Heath, Soho & Jewellery Quarter, South Yardley, Sparkbrook & Balsall Heath East, Sparkhill, Stockland Green, Tyseley & Hay Mills, Ward End, Yardley West & Stechford. A designation can cover only part of a named ward, so check the exact address rather than relying on the ward name alone.

What is the penalty for letting an unlicensed property in Birmingham?

Letting or managing a property that needs a licence without one is a criminal offence under the Housing Act 2004. The council can prosecute or impose a civil penalty, which for conduct on or after 1 May 2026 can be up to £40,000 per offence, raised from £30,000 by the Financial Penalties (Housing Offences and Breach of Banning Orders) Regulations 2026. Tenants or the council can also seek a rent repayment order covering up to two years of rent for conduct from that date, up from one year, under section 103 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Each breach is normally penalised separately. Indicative only, not legal advice.

Do I need planning permission for an HMO in Birmingham?

Where an Article 4 direction applies, yes: it removes the permitted-development right to change a house (use class C3) into a small HMO (use class C4), so that change needs a planning application. An HMO for seven or more residents needs permission anywhere, Article 4 or not. Planning is separate from licensing, and a licence does not give you permission. Where permission was needed and not obtained, councils commonly grant a licence for about twelve months rather than the full term, and generally refuse to extend it if permission is not then granted, which leaves the property unable to be let as an HMO. Practice varies by council, so confirm it with Birmingham.

Can I convert a house into a small HMO in Birmingham without planning permission?

Not inside the Article 4 area. The direction removes the permitted-development right, so a change of use from C3 to C4 needs a planning application. The direction covers the whole of Birmingham, so there is no part of the council where the right still applies.

About Birmingham

Birmingham is a local housing authority in West Midlands, with a population of about 1,141,000 and 21,553 live postcodes indexed by LetLens. It is the licensing authority for every private rented property inside its boundary, and the local planning authority that decides whether an Article 4 direction applies.

Nearby councils

Licensing stops at the council boundary, so a street on the other side of it can carry a different scheme and a different fee.

Contact Birmingham

Birmingham licensing team · [email protected] · 0121 303 5070