HMO licensing in Portsmouth

Which licences a rented house needs in Portsmouth, and where. England. Checked 7 September 2026.

Portsmouth runs additional licensing on top of mandatory licensing.

Mandatory HMO licence: 5 or more people forming 2 or more households sharing facilities.

Additional licensing

Extends HMO licensing to smaller HMOs (typically 3 or 4 people) in a designated area.

StatusIn forceWherenot stated on fetched page (council search snippet describes it as a city wide scheme)

Fetched page confirms an additional licensing scheme is in operation for HMOs with three or four people forming two or more households and links a designation document dated August 2024; start and end dates not on the fetched page. Council search snippet reports the scheme started 1 September 2023, not verified. Landlord FAQ page returned 404.

Selective licensing

Every privately rented home in a designated area needs a licence, HMO or not.

Could not be verified from the council page

Not mentioned on the HMO licensing pages fetched.

Council HMO page · HMO Article 4 in Portsmouth

Check an exact postcode for Article 4

Is a postcode inside an HMO Article 4 area?

See this on every listing.Kerbio puts the Article 4 answer, licensing, the council's HMO register and sold prices on the Rightmove, Zoopla or OnTheMarket page itself. Free for 7 days, then £39 a month.

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Sources: Portsmouth council, gov.uk HMO licensing. Schemes change; confirm with the council before you offer.