Three licences, three triggers

England has three kinds of landlord licensing, and they answer different questions: what the property is, and where it stands.

• Mandatory HMO licensingapplies nationally to larger houses in multiple occupation, generally those shared by 5 or more people forming more than one household. It does not depend on your council’s choices; see GOV.UK: HMO licences ↗.
• Additional licensingis a council’s decision to license smaller HMOs too, across the whole area or part of it. Brent, for example, brought in borough-wide additional licensing from 2 February 2026.
• Selective licensing is the broad one: in a designated area, every privately rented property needs a licence, an ordinary single-family let included. Designations are street-specific and time-limited, which is why two landlords in the same city can face different rules.

Why the street matters more than the city

Selective designations run for up to five years, cover anything from a few streets to a whole borough, and change as schemes start, end and renew. Fees vary as widely as coverage: Birmingham’s scheme charges £700 per licence, Newcastle’s 2026 designation £1,000. The only reliable answer comes from checking your council’s current designation, which is exactly what our council-by-council pagestrack, with dates, fees where published, and links to each council’s own pages.

What happens if you let unlicensed

Letting a property that needed a licence without one exposes you to civil penalties and rent repayment orders, and councils look less kindly on late applications than on-time ones. If you discover you are in a designated area, apply now and say so; the position improves the moment the application is in.

The habit that makes licensing boring

Treat licensing like the gas certificate: a dated, renewable item per property, checked when you buy, when you re-let, and once a year. Schemes announce themselves months ahead through consultations, so a yearly check of your council’s page catches nearly everything before it costs anything.

Based on UK government guidance for England, current at the date above. This guide is general information, not legal advice: for your specific situation, consult a qualified letting agent, solicitor or your local authority.