LandlordProof
Landlord compliance · licensing

Do you need a landlord licence? The three schemes, explained.

You can fall inside a licensing scheme without realising — and letting without a required licence is a criminal offence. Here's the difference between mandatory HMO, additional HMO and selective licensing, how to check your own council, what an application needs, and the penalties for getting it wrong.

Keep your licence & certs in date — free →

General guidance, not legal advice · last reviewed 27 August 2026 · always verify on GOV.UK & your council

The three schemes

Mandatory, additional, selective — what's the difference?

1 · Mandatory HMO

Applies nationally

Any HMO with 5 or more occupants forming 2 or more households needs a licence — everywhere in England, regardless of how many floors. This one isn't optional or area-based.

2 · Additional HMO

Council-designated

A council can extend licensing to smaller HMOs (typically 3–4 occupants) in a designated area. Whether it applies depends entirely on your council and where the property is.

3 · Selective

All rentals in an area

A council can require a licence for every privately rented home in a designated area — not just HMOs. Dozens of councils run these, and new designations keep coming into force.

Additional and selective schemes are decided council by council and change over time, so there's no single national map — your council's housing department is the authority. Related reading: check if your property needs a licence and landlord licensing explained.

Two-minute job

How to check whether YOUR property needs one

✅ The steps

  • Apply the mandatory HMO test — 5+ occupants, 2+ households?
  • Check your council for additional (smaller HMO) designations
  • Check your council for a selective scheme covering your postcode
  • Re-check periodically — new schemes come into force on set dates

📋 What an application usually needs

  • Completed application form + floor plans
  • Gas safety record, EICR and EPC
  • A fire risk assessment (and often alarms/detection detail)
  • The licence fee — varies by council and scheme, for a licence that usually lasts up to five years

Fees vary widely by council and scheme — broadly a few hundred pounds for a selective licence up to four figures for an HMO licence. Always confirm the exact requirements and current fee with your own council before applying.

The stakes

What letting without a required licence can cost

Operating a licensable property without a licence is a criminal offence under the Housing Act 2004. In practice a council can either issue a civil penalty or prosecute:

  • Civil penalty — reported up to £40,000 per offence (raised from £30,000 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025)
  • Prosecution — an unlimited fine on conviction
  • A Rent Repayment Order — up to 24 months' rent repaid to the tenant or council
  • Restrictions on possession while unlicensed can also apply

Figures and rules change — treat these as general guidance and verify the current position on GOV.UK and with your council. Not legal advice.

Where LandlordProof fits

We don't issue the licence — we keep it in date

A licence isn't a one-off — it expires, and it depends on certificates that expire too. LandlordProof keeps them together:

  • Track the licence's own expiry date, per property
  • Track the gas, EICR and EPC a licence relies on
  • Remind you 60/30/7 days before any of them lapse
  • Evidence pack in one click if the council asks

Honest about it: LandlordProof does not decide whether a scheme applies to you or issue any licence — that's your council. It's a record-keeping and reminder tool, and it isn't legal advice. See the full picture on the compliance tracker.

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Set up a free account for your first property in about a minute. Track the licence and every underlying certificate, and get reminded before anything lapses. No card, no trial countdown.

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