The money earned by Greater Manchester local authorities from HMO license fees has exploded in the last five years.
Oldham Council’s revenue from HMO license fees has more than quadrupled since 2013. The local authority earned £6,105 from the HMO application process in the last financial year, compared to just £1,328 in 2013/14.
Stockport Council bagged £6,310 from license fees in 2017/18, 3.7 times higher than the £1,684 they made from fees in 2013/14.
Manchester City Council raked in the most cash from the fees, earning £373,637 from license fees last year, more than double the amount they raised from them in 2016/17.
Salford City Council followed in second position, pocketing £85,171 from the HMO application process last year, an increase of 75% in two years.
Meanwhile Bolton Council has doubled the amount it earns from license fees in the past two two years to £9,722.
Trafford Council’s income from HMO license fees ballooned from £1,674 in 2013/14 to £16,193 in 2015/16, but dropped back down to £2,162 in the last financial year.
Both Wigan Council’s and Bury Council’s license fee revenue has remained stable in the last few years, with Wigan Council’s annual income from the fees coming in at only £112 higher last year than it was in 2013/14
The only Greater Manchester local authority to see significant falls in its revenue from license fees was Rochdale Borough Council, where the amount of money gained from the application process fell from £18,630 in 2014-15 to just £5,578 last year.
HMO licensing changes introduced last October, increased the range of properties obliged to apply for licenses. Prior to October 2018, only properties which were three storeys or higher, housing at least five people and composing two or more households required an HMO license.
The 2018 changes removed the condition that a property must be three storeys or higher before it required a licence. Owners of properties affected by the changes, announced in February last year, had until October to apply for a new HMO license.
Revenue generated through the HMO application process, by Greater Manchester local authority:
(rounded to the nearest pound)
Bolton
| Year | Revenue |
| 2013/14 | £6,344 |
| 2014/15 | £1,473 |
| 2015/16 | £5,264 |
| 2016/17 | £4,460 |
| 2017/18 | £9,722 |
Bury
| Year | Revenue |
| 2013/14 | £0 |
| 2014/15 | £2,246 |
| 2015/16 | £1,186 |
| 2016/17 | £1,135 |
| 2017/18 | £1,774 |
City of Manchester
| Year | Revenue |
| 2013/14 | |
| 2014/15 | |
| 2015/16 | £132,784 |
| 2016/17 | £167,495 |
| 2017/18 | £373,637 |
City of Salford
| Year | Revenue |
| 2013/14 | £15,899 |
| 2014/15 | £33,494 |
| 2015/16 | £25,572 |
| 2016/17 | £48,750 |
| 2017/18 | £85,171 |
Oldham
| Year | Revenue |
| 2013/14 | £1,328 |
| 2014/15 | £1,070 |
| 2015/16 | £1,615 |
| 2016/17 | £5,673 |
| 2017/18 | £6,105 |
Rochdale
| Year | Revenue |
| 2013/14 | £15,375 |
| 2014/15 | £18,630 |
| 2015/16 | £8,500 |
| 2016/17 | £2,967 |
| 2017/18 | £5,578 |
Stockport
| Year | Revenue |
| 2013/14 | £1,684 |
| 2014/15 | £3,116 |
| 2015/16 | £2,593 |
| 2016/17 | £7,547 |
| 2017/18 | £6,310 |
Tameside
| Year | Revenue |
| 2013/14 | £3,500 |
| 2014/15 | £3,000 |
| 2015/16 | £3,500 |
| 2016/17 | £1,000 |
| 2017/18 | £7,000 |
Trafford
| Year | Revenue |
| 2013/14 | £1,674 |
| 2014/15 | £13,106 |
| 2015/16 | £16,193 |
| 2016/17 | £12,869 |
| 2017/18 | £2,162 |
Wigan
| Year | Revenue |
| 2013/14 | £5,480 |
| 2014/15 | £3,956 |
| 2015/16 | £4,494 |
| 2016/17 | £6,729 |
| 2017/18 | £5,592 |