Property Licence

Free UK property licensing checker

Does your rental property need a licence?

Most private rented homes in England do not need a licence. A meaningful minority do. Whether yours falls inside that minority depends on three things: the postcode, the property setup, and the council that runs the area. Enter the postcode below and we will tell you which licences apply.

UK councils covered

361

Active local schemes

138

Total schemes tracked

486

Property licensing coverage across the UK

Click any council on the map for a quick read on its current licensing position. Green councils run selective or additional HMO schemes. Grey councils have been reviewed and run neither. White councils have not yet been reviewed.

Open the full coverage map and table

The three licence types you might need

Property licensing in England is not one rule, it is three. Each has a different trigger and a different scope. Most rented homes are caught by zero or one of them. A small number are caught by two and only need the higher-tier licence.

Selective licensing

A council picks part of its area, and inside that boundary almost every private rented home needs a licence. The household setup does not matter.

 Additional HMO licensing

Three or four people sharing a kitchen and bathroom is a small HMO. Some councils licence those properties on top of the national rule. The boundary depends on which scheme the council has designated.

 Mandatory HMO licensing

Five or more occupiers from two or more households is the threshold that triggers a mandatory licence anywhere in England. There is no postcode test and no opt-out.

Who needs a property licence in the UK

The unhelpful but accurate answer is: it depends. The helpful version is that the answer comes from three independent questions, asked in order. Get the no on all three and the property does not need a licence at all. A yes on any one of them means a licence is needed for that specific scheme.

Question one is about the property setup. Five or more people from two or more households sharing facilities is a mandatory HMO anywhere in England. The licence is required before any tenant moves in, with no exceptions and no postcode lottery.

Question two is about the council and the property setup together. Three or four people from two or more households makes the property a small HMO under section 254. Whether that needs a licence depends on whether the council runs an additional HMO scheme that covers the address.

Question three is about the council and the address. A privately rented home in a single household sits outside HMO licensing entirely. Whether it needs a licence depends on whether the council has designated the address for selective licensing.

The postcode checker at the top of the page runs all three checks at once. The address-level check is optional but matters when the scheme uses a street list.

Why this is worth getting right

Letting an unlicensed property when a licence is required is a criminal offence. The council can prosecute through the magistrates' court, or apply a civil penalty of up to £40,000 per offence under section 249A of the Housing Act 2004 without going to court. The civil penalty route is faster and is now the default in most councils.

Tenants of an unlicensed property can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order under section 41 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016. The order can recover up to twelve months of rent already paid. Universal Credit and housing benefit paid for the same period can be reclaimed by the council.

A landlord cannot serve a valid section 21 no-fault eviction notice while a property should be licensed and is not. The route to end the tenancy by no-fault notice closes until the licence is in place. Two separate housing offences in twelve months can trigger a banning order, which removes the landlord from the rental market entirely.

How the property licence checker works

Three short steps. The postcode does most of the work. The address sharpens the answer for schemes that use a street list.

  1. 1. Postcode finds the council

    We use the ONS postcode to local authority mapping. Every UK postcode resolves to one council. The council is what tells us which set of licensing rules to apply.

  2. 2. Council schemes are checked against the address

    If the council runs a council-wide scheme, the postcode is enough for a definite yes. For ward, polygon and street-list schemes we ask for the property address and check it against the published scheme area.

  3. 3. Mandatory HMO rule runs on top

    The national mandatory rule is applied to the property setup independently of the council answer. A short prompt for occupier count and household count gives you a quick read on whether mandatory HMO licensing applies.

Popular council reports

Every council with an active local scheme has a dedicated page covering its selective licensing, additional HMO licensing, fees, dates and scheme areas. These are the most-searched councils.

Browse all 361 UK councils

Built on current council data

Council licensing schemes change. Designations get renewed, fees go up, ward lists get redrawn. Property Licence re-checks every council page on a schedule and updates the listing when anything material changes. The "last checked" date on each council page is the day we last confirmed the data against the council's own pages.

A postcode result on this site reflects the council's published position the last time we looked. For decisions that carry real money or legal risk, the council's licensing team is always the final authority. The contact details for every council's licensing team are on the council's page.

Common questions about property licensing

Do I need a landlord licence in the UK?
Sometimes. A licence is needed when the council operates a selective licensing scheme that covers the property, when the council operates an additional HMO licensing scheme that catches the property setup, or when the property meets the national mandatory HMO threshold of five or more occupiers from two or more households. Outside those three triggers, no licence is needed.
Does my property need a licence if I rent to family?
Renting to a family member at a market rent under a tenancy agreement is treated the same as any other private let for licensing purposes. The selective licensing rule looks at the address, not the relationship. A rent-free arrangement with a relative is more likely to fall outside the rule because there is usually no tenancy in the legal sense.
What is the difference between selective and HMO licensing?
Selective licensing catches private rented homes inside a designated council area, regardless of who lives in them. HMO licensing catches properties shared by enough households to meet the section 254 test. A property cannot need both at the same time. Where the HMO test is met and an HMO licence applies, the selective licence is not also required.
How do I check if a property needs a licence?
Enter the postcode in the checker on this page. We confirm the council, then check the property setup against the council's current licensing schemes. If the scheme uses a street list, picking the specific address sharpens the answer to a yes or no.
What happens if I rent without a licence when one is needed?
The council can prosecute, or apply a civil penalty of up to £40,000 per offence under section 249A of the Housing Act 2004. Tenants can apply for a rent repayment order of up to twelve months of rent. The landlord cannot serve a valid section 21 notice until the licence is in place.
How long does a property licence last?
Most selective and additional HMO licences run for five years. Mandatory HMO licences usually run for five years as well, although the council can issue a shorter term where the property or the licence holder do not yet meet the council's standard. The licence does not transfer when the property is sold.
Where does this checker get its data?
Council licensing pages, designation notices, application forms and public registers, plus the ONS postcode to local authority mapping. We re-check the council sources on a schedule so the answers track the council, not a snapshot from a year ago.