Selective licensing · Medway Council
Medway Council Designation for Areas for Selective Licensing 2026
- Status
- Starts soon
- Dates
- 4 January 2027 to 3 January 2032
- Designated
- 22 September 2026
- Fee
- £840 per property: £436 when you apply and £404 when the licence is approved. One discount at most, applied once the council has checked your application: 10% for accredited landlords (£756), 25% for registered charities housing vulnerable tenants (£630), or 12.5% for several properties in the same freehold, such as flats in one building (£735). The council's licensing page shows £1,600 for a selective licence and £840 for an HMO licence, the other way round from its consultation and Cabinet papers, so check the fee when you apply. You can apply from 4 January 2027 and not before.
- Applies to
- Every privately rented home in the seven named wards that doesn't need an HMO licence, usually a home let to one household or to two unrelated people sharing. In Strood North & Frindsbury, which has no additional HMO licensing, that includes shared houses of three or four people. Exempt: HMOs that need a mandatory or additional HMO licence, homes let by a housing association or other social landlord, homes under a management order or with a temporary exemption, and the kinds of letting exempt nationally. A flat let to one household in a converted block of flats (a section 257 HMO) needs a selective licence.
Our records last verified 18 October 2026 · council designation page · licence conditions
Area covered
The designation covers these wards, as they were drawn when the scheme was made:
- Chatham Central & Brompton
- Fort Pitt
- Gillingham North
- Gillingham South
- Luton
- Strood North & Frindsbury
- Watling
What this means for landlords
Selective licensing applies to privately rented homes of any size in the designated area, including single lets. Letting an unlicensed property inside the area can mean 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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