Bristol City Council has confirmed that additional licensing has been approved and further details relating to implementation will be released in due course.

Additional licensing is expected to cover over 12 wards in the city and will be operating alongside the pre-existing licensing scheme in Easton, Eastville and St George West wards. The scheme will affect properties that house three or four tenants forming two or more households.

Landlords are being encouraged to submit their applications, which can be accessed on the council website. Supporting documentation from the cabinet meeting outline the licensing costs, incentives and penalty liable where applicable.

The standard licence fee for a new application is £1,255 but this can be reduced to £1,055 if applicants are eligible for all the discounts. There is a discount of £50 for Rent with Confidence members, £150 for satisfactory safety/EPC certificates and £200 for applicants that are both members of Rent with Confidence and who also provide satisfactory safety and EPC certificates.

To deter non-compliance the council has imposed a £100 investigation penalty for properties that are found to be unlicensed, which will result in a total licensing cost of £1,355. Councillor Paul Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing, said, “Although most landlords are providing quality rented accommodation and a good service to their tenants, we are aware that a significant number of HMOs are being poorly managed and maintained in these areas.”