Additional HMO licensing · Coventry City Council
Coventry City Council Designation for an Area for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation 2025 (council page name: Additional Licensing Scheme 2025)
- Status
- In force
- Runs
- 4 May 2025 to 3 May 2030
- Designated
- 7 October 2024
- Fee
- Coventry charges the same fees for every HMO licence, in two parts: £716 when you apply, then a second payment once the council decides to grant the licence, which depends on how long the licence runs. A one-year licence, the usual first licence, costs £1,571 (£716 and £855). Landlords who meet the council's criteria can get two years for £1,116 (£716 and £400) or five years for £944 (£716 and £228), and five years also needs Coventry landlord accreditation. Renewing a two or five-year licence for the same length costs £937 (£716 and £221). An HMO found operating without a licence for more than 12 weeks gets a one-year licence at £2,241 (£716 and £1,525). Fees from 1 October 2025.
- Applies to
- HMOs anywhere in Coventry that don't need a mandatory licence, usually homes let to three or four people from two or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. Each cluster flat in a privately run student block needs its own licence. Converted blocks of flats whose conversion didn't meet the building regulations and still doesn't, where less than two thirds of the flats are owner-occupied (section 257 HMOs), are covered too, except a building of just two flats with no business premises above or below, or one of no more than two storeys whose flats share no common parts. Exempt: HMOs under a management order or with a temporary exemption, and buildings the law says aren't HMOs, such as those run by a council or housing association.
Our records last verified 18 October 2026 · council designation page · licence conditions
Area covered
The scheme covers the whole of Coventry City Council. Every privately rented property in the borough that meets the scheme’s criteria needs a licence, wherever it is.
What this means for landlords
Additional HMO licensing extends licensing to shared homes below the national 5-person mandatory threshold. If your property in this area houses unrelated sharers, check the scheme’s occupancy criteria. Running a licensable HMO without a licence carries the same penalties as any licensing offence: a civil penalty of up to £40,000 and a rent repayment order of up to 24 months’ rent.
Is your property inside the scheme area?
This checker reflects HouseFile’s records of council licensing designations, not the councils’ live registers. Our records indicate the position at the verification date shown on each result. Schemes are designated, renewed and revoked throughout the year, and postcode-level lookups are approximate near scheme boundaries. Always confirm with the council before letting or buying a property, using the source link on each card. This is general information, not legal advice.
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