# HMO licence cost in Reading: £1,500 for a 3 or 4 person house, the late fee and the penalties

> A Reading HMO licence costs £1,500, or £1,750 if you apply more than 12 weeks late. Both schemes' fees side by side, with the penalties as they stand now.

- Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/reading-hmo-licence-cost-additional-licensing/
- Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/)
- Section: Letting agents, Compliance and safety
- Published 1 October 2026
- Key fact: On 1 October 2026 Reading Borough Council's licence for a 3 or 4 person HMO cost £1,500 (£750 with the application and £750 when the draft licence is issued), or £1,750 if the application is more than 12 weeks late; the maximum civil penalty for an unlicensed HMO has been £40,000 since 1 May 2026, not the £30,000 both official pages still quote.
- Sources: Reading Borough Council "Extension of property licensing in Reading" and "HMO application guidance"; Home Safe "Reading Borough Council's Additional Licensing Scheme"; Housing Act 2004 sections 72 and 249A, S.I. 2026/319, Housing and Planning Act 2016 sections 41 and 44 and S.I. 2026/421 regulation 11 (legislation.gov.uk); all read 2026-10-01, prices confirmed in a browser.

An HMO licence in Reading costs £1,500 per property with up to five letting rooms. Apply more than 12 weeks late and it is £1,750. Since 1 March 2026 the licence is needed for shared houses and flats with 3 or 4 occupiers, across the whole borough, as well as the larger ones that already needed one.

That second group is new, and it is the one agents are most likely to have missed: the three-bed terrace let to three sharers that nobody in the office ever called an HMO.

## Which properties need which licence

| | Additional licence | Mandatory licence |
|---|---|---|
| Who it covers | 3 or 4 occupiers from 2 or more households | 5 or more occupiers from 2 or more households |
| Where | All of Reading borough | All of England |
| Since | 1 March 2026, running to 28 February 2031 | Already in force |
| Apply through | Home Safe, the council's delivery partner | The council's own licensing site |

The council says an HMO is a property occupied by at least three people who are not from the same household and who share a bathroom, kitchen or toilet. Home Safe puts the test as 3 or more persons in 2 or more households, so a couple and one friend count. Two sharers do not, and nor does an owner living with up to two lodgers.

Buildings converted into self-contained flats (section 257 HMOs) are left out of the new scheme. An individual flat shared by three or four people is not.

## The fees, side by side

We read both fee tables on 1 October 2026.

| | Additional (3 or 4 people) | Mandatory (5 or more) |
|---|---|---|
| Part A, paid with the application | £750 | £1,125 |
| Part B, paid when the draft licence is issued | £750 | £375 |
| Total | £1,500 | £1,500 |
| Extra letting rooms | None listed | £28 for each room above 5 |
| More than 12 weeks late | Part A becomes £1,000, total £1,750 | Part A becomes £1,375, total £1,750 |
| Incomplete application | None listed | £50 |
| Missed inspection | None listed | £52 |

Home Safe invoices Part B when the draft licence is issued and wants it within 7 days. A seven-bed mandatory HMO costs £1,500 plus 2 × £28, which is £1,556.

"Late" means the property has been occupied as an HMO for 12 weeks or more before the application goes in. Neither page says how that is counted for a house that was already let when the new scheme began. If the 12 weeks ran from 1 March 2026, they ended on 24 May 2026, and any application made now for such a house is late. Ask Home Safe before you quote a landlord a figure.

## What it costs a small portfolio

Take an agency that manages eight small shared houses in Reading for six landlords.

- With the applications: 8 × £750 = £6,000
- When the draft licences come out: 8 × £750 = £6,000
- Total: £12,000
- If all eight are late: 8 × £1,750 = £14,000, which is £2,000 more

Whoever pays, each landlord needs the figure in writing before you apply. Over a full five years £1,500 is £300 a year, or £25 a month. The council says a licence runs for up to five years or to the end of the scheme, so one issued later covers fewer months for the same fee.

## The penalties, and two figures to correct

Operating a licensable HMO without a licence is an offence under section 72 of the Housing Act 2004. The offence is committed by the landlord and by "any person having control of or managing the HMO", which is how an agent comes into it. Home Safe says so in plain words: "this also applies to agents".

On the day we read them, the council's page and Home Safe's page both gave the civil penalty as "up to £30,000" and the rent repayment order as up to 12 months' rent. The legislation has moved on:

- The maximum civil penalty under section 249A has been £40,000 since 1 May 2026. The old £30,000 limit applies only to conduct before that date.
- A rent repayment order can now cover up to 2 years' rent. The longer period does not reach back before 1 May 2026.
- On prosecution the fine is unlimited.

It is a defence that a valid application had been made. The council puts it this way: once a valid application is in, you can let and advertise the property.

## Applying: what to have ready

1. Register the agency with Home Safe. Landlords cannot add you to an application until you have.
2. List every let with three or more occupiers and count the households in each.
3. Collect the documents the council asks for: the EICR, the gas certificate, the EPC if one is required, a floor plan (it need not be drawn by a professional), and test records for any fire alarm panel, emergency lighting or extinguishers.
4. Agree in writing who the licence holder will be. The council says it is usually the person who receives the rent.
5. Submit and pay Part A. Home Safe says an application takes about five minutes per property with the papers to hand, and that a started application locks if it is not finished within 28 days.
6. Name the person inspectors should contact. Home Safe plans two inspection programmes and aims to visit each licensed property in both.

The gas and electrical dates are the same ones in our [compliance date tracker](https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/lettings-compliance-date-tracker/), and the [PRS Database](https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/prs-database-landlord-ombudsman-agents/) will ask for them again.

## Selective licensing is next

The council plans licences for every rented home, including single-family lets, in Battle ward "within the next 2 years", with Park and Redlands to follow at intervals of 12 to 14 months. No fee is published. The council says it expects the fee to be lower than the HMO fee, and you cannot apply yet. Add it to your [2026 compliance checklist](https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/lettings-compliance-checklist-2026/) as a date to watch.

Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) can set up an AI assistant that keeps a compliance diary for each managed property that includes the licence expiry date beside the gas and EICR dates. It does not apply for licences; a person at the agency does that.

This is general information, not legal advice. Fees change, so check the council's page on the day you apply.

## Short answers from this page

**How much does an HMO licence cost in Reading?** £1,500 per property on 1 October 2026, both for the new licence for 3 or 4 person HMOs and for the mandatory licence for 5 or more people, which adds £28 for each letting room above five. Applying more than 12 weeks late makes it £1,750. The 3 or 4 person fee is paid as £750 with the application and £750 when the draft licence is issued.

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General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.