Burnley Council is proposing to freeze most of its fees and charges for 2027/28 but plans to increase HMO licences by a whopping £745.67 to £1,706.67 per licence.

The authority is recommending a 0% general increase in fees and charges from April in a bid to ease financial pressures on residents – but evidently believes landlords don’t need any help.

It explains that the proposed increase follows a detailed review of the staff time required to process and grant licences, ensuring the full cost of administering the scheme – which currently costs £961 per licence - is recovered. It says the increase also sits alongside the council’s wider work to improve standards in privately rented housing. Earlier this week it announced plans for a consultation into a new borough-wide additional licensing scheme.

Report

A report to the council’s executive explains: “It is therefore important that licence fees accurately reflect the cost of administering the scheme, including the staff time needed to assess applications and ensure licensing requirements are met. The council will continue to offer a 30% discount on the licence grant fee for landlords accredited under its Good Landlord and Agent Scheme. The discount applies only to the fee payable when a licence is granted, rather than the initial application fee, and recognises responsible landlords who already demonstrate good standards of property management.”

Other exceptions to the proposed freeze include a 3.3% increase on its selective licensing scheme and Building Control fees.

Households

Councillor Margaret Lishman, executive member for resources and performance (pictured), says: “We know that many households across Burnley and Padiham are continuing to feel the pressure of rising living costs. We also face increasing costs in delivering council services, but we are proposing to freeze most of our fees and charges rather than pass those increases to residents. Our priority is to ease financial pressures wherever we can while continuing to manage the council’s finances responsibly.”

The plan will be considered by the executive later this month before being recommended to full council for approval as part of the 2027/28 budget.

It follows the introduction of a non-immediate Article 4 direction in August across all 15 wards in a bid to deter investors who see the borough as a “high yield investment opportunity”. Earlier this year it also consulted on plans to extend selective licensing.

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