Landlord licence BCP: what Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole landlords need

Landlord licence BCP at a glance

Sources: BCP Council pages listed under Sources, checked 21 October 2026.

How big is the private rented sector in BCP?

At the 2021 Census, 44,152 of BCP's 173,842 households rented privately. That's 25.4% of households, well above the 20.3% average across England and Wales. By number of privately renting households, BCP ranked 13 of the 331 local authorities in England and Wales; by share it ranked 52. For comparison, 109,221 households (62.8%) owned their home and 19,102 (11.0%) rented socially.

Selective licensing Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

There is no selective licensing in Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole. BCP Council's current HMO pages describe mandatory licensing only. The council did consult in 2020 on a selective scheme for parts of the area and an additional HMO scheme for 3 and 4 person shared houses; that consultation ran from 13 January 2020 and was extended to 20 July 2020 because of the pandemic, but no designation followed. So a family let, a couple, or two sharers in a flat in Boscombe, Westbourne or Poole town centre doesn't need a council licence.

That could change. A council can only introduce selective licensing after a public consultation of at least 10 weeks, and it must then publish a designation notice at least 3 months before the scheme starts, so landlords would get plenty of warning. We'll update this page if BCP consults again.

Mandatory HMO licensing in BCP

A property needs a mandatory HMO licence if it's occupied by 5 or more people forming 2 or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. That applies anywhere in BCP, regardless of the number of storeys. Flats in purpose-built blocks of 3 or more flats are outside mandatory licensing under the national rules. BCP says you must legally be in control of the property before you apply, licences last up to 5 years, and a temporary exemption notice may be available if the property will stop being licensable within 3 months.

Smaller shared houses (3 or 4 sharers) don't need a licence, but they are still HMOs. The HMO management regulations, which cover fire escape routes, shared areas and amenities, apply to them in full.

BCP landlord licence fees

BCP Council publishes these mandatory HMO fees: £1,511 for a new licence, paid as £486.50 at stage 1 (on application) and £1,024.50 at stage 2 (once you get the notice of intention to grant). A renewal is £1,391.50 (£399 plus £992.50). Where there are more than 6 units, BCP adds £27.50 per extra unit at stage 2. Landlords accredited through an approved scheme get 20% off, applied at stage 2, but there's no reduction for properties the council finds operating without a licence.

Councils usually split a licence fee into two parts: one paid when you apply, covering processing, and one paid before the licence is granted, covering running and enforcing the scheme. Where the council publishes the split, we show it above. Fees are reviewed regularly, so treat these as correct on the date we checked and confirm on the council's fee page before you pay.

Do I need a landlord licence in BCP? A quick check

1. Count the people and households. A household is one person, or members of the same family living together, including couples.
2. If 5 or more people from 2 or more households share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, you need a mandatory HMO licence from BCP Council.
3. If it's a 3 or 4 person house share, no licence is needed in BCP, but HMO management rules still apply.
4. If it's a single-household let, no property licence is needed in BCP.
5. Whichever applies, the national landlord duties below still do.

People also ask about landlord licensing in BCP

Do I need a landlord licence in Bournemouth? Only if the property is a large HMO let to 5 or more people from 2 or more households. BCP has no selective or additional licensing.

Is there selective licensing in Poole or Christchurch? No. No selective licensing designation is in force anywhere in the BCP Council area.

How much is an HMO licence in BCP? £1,511 for a new licence (£486.50 plus £1,024.50) and £1,391.50 to renew, plus £27.50 per unit over 6.

What every BCP landlord must do, licence or not

Licensing sits on top of the duties every landlord in England already has. Whether or not your BCP property needs a licence, you still need to:

• have every gas appliance, flue and pipework checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer every 12 months, and give tenants a copy of the record;
• have the electrical installation inspected and tested at least every 5 years, and give tenants the report;
• hold a valid EPC rated E or above before you let, unless the property is exempt;
• protect any deposit in a government-approved scheme within 30 days and give the prescribed information;
• fit a smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance (gas cookers excepted);
• carry out Right to Rent checks before a tenancy starts.

A council considering a licence application, or inspecting a licensed property, will usually ask to see evidence of the first four.

What happens if you let without the right licence in BCP?

Letting a property that needs a licence without one is a criminal offence. Since 1 May 2026, councils can issue civil penalties of up to £40,000 per offence as an alternative to prosecution, and tenants can apply for a rent repayment order covering up to 24 months' rent; several councils, including Westminster, Brighton & Hove and Islington, now state these limits on their own pages. Prosecution can lead to an unlimited fine. The practical point: once a valid application is in, you're treated as having applied, so apply as soon as you know a licence is needed.

Keeping to your licence conditions

A licence normally lasts up to 5 years, and councils attach conditions to it: typically that you send an updated gas safety certificate when asked, keep smoke alarms working, provide electrical safety certificates, and deal with repairs properly. Keeping on top of those conditions is mostly a matter of records.

That's the part Gaffy helps with. Each property gets a vault where you store the gas safety certificate, EICR and EPC with their expiry dates, and Gaffy flags anything expired or expiring soon, so the certificate a licence condition asks for doesn't lapse. Tenants report repairs through a link in their phone's browser, with photos, which gives you a dated repair history if the council asks. Gaffy is £12 a month for up to 5 properties, plus £4 a month for each extra property, and the first month is free. We don't apply for licences on your behalf.