HMO Licensing in Nottingham

Nottingham is still a top HMO city, but by 2026 it is also one of the most heavily licensed in the UK: mandatory licensing, city-wide additional licensing for 3+ sharers, near-city-wide selective licensing, and strict Article 4 around the student belt.

Licensing stack in Nottingham (2026)

Mandatory HMO licensing

National rule: licence needed if the property has:

• 5 or more people,
• in 2+ households,
• sharing facilities.

Nottingham enforces this like everywhere else.

City-wide additional licensing (3+ sharers)

Nottingham runs a city-wide additional licensing scheme for smaller HMOs.

As Nottingham City Council puts it (Jan 2024 update):

"As of January 2024, the third scheme is now citywide, meaning smaller HMOs across Nottingham now require a licence."

It applies to any property:

• Occupied by three or more unrelated people,
• Forming two or more households,
• Sharing facilities.

So in practice: almost every HMO in Nottingham, from 3 occupants upwards, needs a licence, not just the 5+ HMOs.

Selective licensing: 90% PRS coverage, new scheme from Dec 2023

Nottingham's first city-wide selective licensing scheme ran from 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2023, covering about 90% of PRS homes in the city boundary.

A second selective licensing scheme started 1 December 2023, with a re-drawn designation zone but still very broad coverage.

Landlords now face new fees from 1 April 2026, according to council fee policy.

Key points:

• Most PRS properties inside the new designation area need a selective licence unless they are already an HMO under mandatory/additional schemes.
• The second scheme's fees per property:
• GBP 887 for standard landlords,
• GBP 665 for accredited landlords,
• Rising to GBP 1,233 for "less compliant" landlords.

Between mandatory licensing, city-wide additional licensing, and an extremely broad selective scheme, almost every rented house in Nottingham either has an HMO licence or a selective licence.

Fees and room size standards

HMO licence fees (from 1 April 2025)

Council fee policy (Table 1):

For non-accredited landlords:

• HMO (up to 9 bedrooms):
• Part A (application): GBP 673.
• Part B (grant): GBP 880.
• Total: GBP 1,553.
• Additional fee: For 10+ bedrooms, an extra GBP 28 per bedroom payable in addition to Part A.

HMO Hub 2026 summary gives approximate totals:

• Mandatory (5+ persons): new application ~GBP 1,050, renewal ~GBP 860.
• Additional (3-4 persons): new application ~GBP 850, renewal ~GBP 700.

These align broadly once you factor in discounts for accredited landlords and earlier schemes.

Room sizes and standards

Nottingham enforces national minimum HMO bedroom sizes:

• Single: 6.51 sq m.
• Double: 10.22 sq m.
• Under-10s: 4.64 sq m.

HMO Hub summarises Nottingham's requirements:

• Minimum sizes as above.
• Adequate kitchen facilities for occupancy.
• At least 1 WC per 5 occupants.
• Landlord contact details displayed in a communal area.

These are policed via licence conditions and inspections.

Article 4: where you need planning permission

Nottingham adopted an Article 4 Direction in March 2012 to control HMO growth in student neighbourhoods.

Article 4 removes permitted development rights, so you must get planning permission to change from:

• C3 (single family dwelling) to
• C4 (small HMO for 3-6 people),

in the Article 4 area.

Coverage:

Article 4 covers large parts of the central student belt, including:

• Lenton
• Radford
• Arboretum
• Dunkirk
• Wollaton Park fringes, and nearby inner-city neighbourhoods.

Neighbouring councils are now copying this model, for example Broxtowe planning to expand Beeston HMO restrictions and add new Article 4 areas, partly because Nottingham already has a city-wide Article 4-type control around Lenton/Dunkirk/Wollaton Park.

Effect:

• Any new small HMO in these zones needs planning consent; Article 4 is used to stop streets flipping entirely to HMOs.
• Larger HMOs (7+) always need planning anyway.

Student HMO market and key areas

Universities

Nottingham hosts University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent, with a combined student population of 60,000+. This underpins heavy student demand for HMOs in the NG7/NG8 belt.

Core HMO areas

Local student HMO agents list key areas:

Lenton: Prime student area, close to both universities. Largely within Article 4 and city-wide additional licensing.

Dunkirk: UoN-favoured area close to main campus. Also in Article 4 and licensing zones.

Radford / Arboretum: Mix of student and migrant HMOs; strong yields but higher management load.

Beeston: Technically Broxtowe Borough, not Nottingham City, but functionally part of UoN student market; now seeing Beeston HMO restriction expansion and new Article 4 proposals.

Hyson Green / Sneinton: More mixed / lower-value areas with rising shared housing and HMOs.

Typical room rents

Student HMO listings show:

• Lenton 6-bed student houses at GBP 110-125 per person per week, sometimes more, depending on spec and bills.
• Example: 6-bed house on Cecil Street advertised at GBP 125 pppw bills included (about GBP 540/month per person).

You can reasonably benchmark:

• Standard Nottingham student HMO room in Lenton / Dunkirk / Radford: GBP 110-125 pppw including bills, around GBP 480-540/month.

Enforcement: Nottingham's aggressive approach

Nottingham is consistently cited as one of the toughest councils for HMO and landlord licensing:

• The city has run city-wide selective licensing since 2018 and moved to a second scheme in 2023, specifically to drive up standards.
• HMO Hub notes Nottingham as one of the most active HMO licensing regimes in the East Midlands, with strict Article 4 and city-wide additional licensing.

On enforcement:

• The council has used civil penalties and prosecutions against unlicensed HMO and selective-licence landlords.
• It has been involved in Rent Repayment Orders (RROs) where tenants recovered rent for unlicensed or poorly managed properties.
• Fee policy includes higher fees for "less compliant" landlords, signalling a clear intent to punish non-compliance financially:
• Selective licence jumps to GBP 1,233 for such landlords.
• Additional licensing consultations mention fees up to GBP 1,993 for non-accredited, less compliant HMO landlords.

Put simply: Nottingham actively seeks out non-compliant landlords and makes examples of them.

What forums get wrong

Myth 1: "Only 5+ sharer HMOs need licences; 3-4 beds are safe."

Reality: Nottingham has a city-wide additional licensing scheme from January 2024 that covers all HMOs with 3+ occupants from 2+ households. If you have three students in a terrace, it almost certainly needs an HMO licence.

Myth 2: "Selective licensing ended in 2023; it is back to normal now."

Reality: The first scheme ended in July 2023, but a second scheme started 1 December 2023 with new boundaries and fees. It still covers most PRS; a licence is required for nearly every single-let within the zone.

Myth 3: "Article 4 only bites in a small Lenton triangle."

Reality: Article 4 has covered large areas around Lenton, Radford, Arboretum, Dunkirk and Wollaton Park since 2012, and neighbouring councils like Broxtowe are adding more Article 4 areas in response. New HMOs there need planning permission and can be refused even if they would license.

Myth 4: "Nottingham is great for 'BRR to HMO' because the council does not check."

Reality: Nottingham is one of the few cities with all three layers:

• Mandatory HMO.
• City-wide additional HMO.
• Huge selective licensing coverage.

Plus strict Article 4 and active enforcement, including high fees for "less compliant" landlords and RROs.

How to present Nottingham on PropertyKiln

Licensing:

• Mandatory HMO: 5+ sharers, ~GBP 1,050 new / GBP 860 renewal.
• Additional HMO (city-wide): 3-4 sharers, ~GBP 850 new / GBP 700 renewal.
• Selective: huge PRS footprint, GBP 887 standard, GBP 665 accredited, GBP 1,233 less compliant (second scheme).

Planning: Article 4 around Lenton/Dunkirk/Radford/Arboretum/Wollaton Park. Any new 3-6 bed HMO needs planning permission here.

Market: Student HMOs in Lenton/Dunkirk/Radford typically achieve GBP 110-125 pppw including bills.

Risk profile: Fantastic student demand and income potential, but Nottingham is a full-fat compliance city. If you are not prepared to run a tight ship on licensing, planning and standards, this is the wrong market.

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