Fire risk assessments for Bournemouth HMOs — fixed price, application-ready
5 out of 5 stars 5.0 on Google · all 13 reviews →£249 fixed · draft report first, pay after · the fire risk assessment is on the council's application list — this is how you tick it off
2 minutes · licence needed or not, what’s missing from your application, and your fixed price · no payment details
- Draft report within 48 hours of the visit, or the assessment is free.
- No upfront payment
- 100% approval guarantee
- Fully independent
One licence. One fee. Six documents.
Portsmouth varies the licence term; Southampton varies the fee. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council does neither — one mandatory licence for HMOs of five or more people, one flat fee of £1,511, and a list of six documents your application must include. The lever here is readiness: in the council's own words, not completing the application to the necessary standard could result in prosecution for failure to license — and the fee isn't refunded if the application is refused.
- Floor plans of the premises — to scale or to proportion
- Automatic fire detection inspection and test certificate(s)
- Emergency lighting inspection and test certificate(s)
- Gas safety inspection and test certificate(s)
- Electrical installation inspection and test certificate(s) (EICR)
- The fire risk assessment up-to-date, like everything on this list
Unlike Portsmouth and Southampton, there is no additional licensing here — a three- or four-person HMO needs no licence in Bournemouth. But the council's overview page is explicit: even if you do not need a licence, your building must meet the standards — the same fire safety, amenity and management guidance applies. And the fire risk assessment duty comes from the Fire Safety Order, not the licence.
Renewal asks for the same six items — though the council notes you may not need the same level of detail unless something has changed. Certificates still have to be current on the day.
Fee in two stages: £486.50 at application, £1,024.50 at the notice of intention to grant. Renewal £1,391.50. More than 6 units: +£27.50 per unit. Accredited landlords: 20% off all application fees. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council — HMO licence apply/renew page (published fees) · verified 1 September 2026.
Council facts last reviewed: September 2026
Free · 2 minutes · no payment details
Would your licence application be ready to send today?
£1,511 — one flat fee, and it isn't refunded if the application falls short.
the fee is fixed; readiness is what you control
★★★★★ 5.0 on Google · “The resulting report was crystal clear, remarkably thorough, and exceptionally professional.” — HMO landlord · Portsmouth
How many rooms do you rent out (or plan to)?
How many storeys, counting a habitable basement or converted attic?
Do those storeys include a habitable basement or a converted attic?
How do your tenants rent?
Do you have a current fire risk assessment for the property?
Which of these are current and satisfactory?
How many people live in the property?
Everyone living there counts, including children; a couple is one household but two people.
Does the property have an HMO licence?
Do you have a floor plan of the property, drawn to scale or in proportion?
Mandatory licence: required
6 of 6
application items in hand
The application has to reach the necessary standard — the council's own words, with prosecution named as the consequence of falling short — and the £1,511 fee isn't refunded if it's refused. Until the licence is granted, the law allows a civil penalty of up to £30,000 for operating an unlicensed HMO.
Your report shows exactly what, and what the visit fixes.
Mandatory licence: required
6 of 6— application-ready.
application items in hand
You hold everything the council asks for. What the list can't tell you is whether it stands up — and the fire risk assessment is the one item on it that decides how the whole fire side reads.
Your report shows exactly what, and what the visit fixes.
Every point we can score, passed — the assessment puts that in writing.
Mandatory licence: required
Application in.
The licence decision is the council's — the state of the building it describes is still yours.
The application has to reach the necessary standard — the council's own words, with prosecution named as the consequence of falling short — and the £1,511 fee isn't refunded if it's refused. Until the licence is granted, the law allows a civil penalty of up to £30,000 for operating an unlicensed HMO.
You hold everything the council asks for. What the list can't tell you is whether it stands up — and the fire risk assessment is the one item on it that decides how the whole fire side reads.
Your documents are with the council; what's left to control is what an officer would find.
Your report shows exactly what, and what the visit fixes.
Mandatory licence: required
Renewal asks for the same six items — current on the day.
£1,391.50 flat (20% less if you're accredited), and the council notes you may not need the same level of detail unless something has changed. Lapsed certificates are what turn a renewal into a problem.
Your report shows exactly what, and what the visit fixes.
No licence needed.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council licenses HMOs of five or more people — yours isn't one. But the council is explicit: even if you do not need a licence, your building must meet the standards. And the fire risk assessment duty applies to every HMO under the Fire Safety Order, licensed or not.
Your report shows exactly what, and what the visit fixes.
Your tenancy structure changes the standard the council applies — your report shows which one.
A property this size I price personally — request your fixed quote and I come back the same day, usually.
Your full report comes with your booking confirmation.
Based on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council's published criteria. The licence decision is always the council's.
Get the full report
Every criterion scored against the council's rules, your fix list in priority order, and your price held for 30 days.
Your report link comes by email. I'll follow up on your check — you can unsubscribe any time. Reports and answers are deleted after 30 days. Privacy
Or skip the email —
Your report is on its way
Check your inbox — the link opens your full report, scored criterion by criterion.
Different property, or changed answers?
Based on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council's published criteria. The licence decision is always the council's.
Nothing is saved while you answer. Your result shows on screen — no email needed to see it.
Fixed prices, by rented rooms
No VAT, no travel charge, nothing paid until your finalised report is delivered.
Independent HMO assessments across Bournemouth, carried out personally by Matt McAllen — AIFSM independent fire risk assessor and chartered safety professional. Fixed prices from £249 by the number of rented rooms, no upfront payment, and a report ready to go in with your licence application.
| HMO — by rented rooms | Price |
|---|---|
| Up to 4 rented rooms · 2 storeys | £249 |
| 5–7 rented rooms · 2 storeys | £269 |
| Basement or third storey (incl. converted attic) | +£50 |
| 8+ rooms, or basement and attic | Request quote |
The price buys more than a visit
Every assessment includes twelve months of fire-related advice on the property.
Council letter lands, alarm question comes up, tenant change — you message me, I answer. Already what happens; now it’s in writing.
If the council asks for fire safety work that’s going to cost serious money, send me what they’ve asked for — free initial view on whether it sounds proportionate, before you spend.
An initial view based on the information provided, not a formal opinion — formal advice needs the property seen, via a full assessment.
The alarm system the table says you need — and the one your building does
A three-storey converted house, tenants on separate agreements — a Portsmouth landlord, but the rule travels. On paper, that combination starts at the top of the guidance tables in both cities: here, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council's own notes for three- and four-storey houses send separate-tenancy properties to the bedsit standard — a Grade A panel system with call points, extinguishers on every level, emergency lighting, a fully protected route. That's the default when nobody has assessed the actual building.
On this one, the assessment found the detection already fitted did the job — above minimum, in fact — and the urgent actions cost almost nothing: extension leads daisy-chained under carpet on the escape route, storage in the services cupboard, final exits that needed a key. It also caught the paperwork trap: the landlord held an installation certificate and a building-control certificate and assumed the electrics were evidenced — neither was the electrical safety certificate the licence actually asks for.
That's the pattern across our HMO work — the hardware is usually fine; it's the paperwork that fails. The table is the default; the assessment is what establishes what your building needs, before you buy any of it.
Winton, Charminster, Boscombe, Springbourne — most weeks we’re here.
Get my priceWhat Bournemouth landlords say
“The resulting report was crystal clear, remarkably thorough, and exceptionally professional.”
“Matt was friendly and approachable and the process was much more responsive and less stressful than I have found with other companies in recent years.”
Straight answers
Does a Bournemouth HMO need fire doors everywhere?
Not everywhere — and bedrooms have a genuine either/or. For a one- or two-storey shared house on a single tenancy, the council’s guidance requires fire doors to the kitchen, lounge and other risk rooms, and for bedrooms: either escape windows meeting Building Regulations or fire doors — one or the other, not both. Three and four storeys, and separate tenancies, change the answer. The assessment tells you which set applies before you spend.
Is emergency lighting required in my HMO?
Depends on the building. The council’s guidance for one- and two-storey shared houses doesn’t call for it; three- and four-storey houses and bedsit-type properties do. It’s a certificate on the licence application list only where the system exists.
I didn’t know I needed a fire risk assessment — do I?
Yes. It’s item six on the council’s licence application list, and the duty itself comes from the Fire Safety Order — it applies to every HMO, licensed or not.
Which Bournemouth HMOs need a licence?
Five or more people, from more than one household — the national mandatory scheme. There’s no additional licensing here, so smaller HMOs need no licence — but in the council’s own words, even without one your building must meet the standards.
What does a Bournemouth HMO licence cost?
£1,511 for a new licence, £1,391.50 to renew, in two stages. More than six units adds £27.50 per unit. Accredited landlords get 20% off (£302.20 / £278.30). No refund if the application is refused.
My tenants are on separate agreements — does that change anything?
Yes, and here it’s in black and white: the council’s notes for three- and four-storey houses state that separate tenancies bring the bedsit-property requirements — panel alarm system, extinguishers, emergency lighting, protected route. Even at one or two storeys, bedroom smoke detection moves from recommended to required. A contract change is a fire-system change.
Do I need planning permission as well?
Sometimes — it’s a separate regime. HMOs of seven or more always need planning permission, and Article 4 directions mean small HMOs need it in certain parts of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole too. The licence and the planning question are decided separately.
One visit. Application-ready.
Independent assessment, draft report before you pay a penny. The fire risk assessment is item six on the council's list — send your application in with the fire side already right.
Also serving the rest of the city and beyond — see fire risk assessments in Bournemouth or all areas.