HMO licensing in Southampton

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

Mandatory HMO licensing only in Southampton.

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.

Could not be verified from the council page

WebFetch returned empty content for the HMO licences page, the consultation news article and the Cabinet decision page (3 attempts). Council search snippets indicate a new additional scheme from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2030 covering nine wards, not verified.

Selective licensing

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

Could not be verified from the council page

Council pages unreadable via WebFetch (empty content); no selective scheme seen in search snippets.

Council HMO page · HMO Article 4 in Southampton

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