Free tool
Landlord licensing checker
HouseFile tracks your licence expiry date alongside your certificate dates for each property.
Every property gets its own file, with a reminder before any certificate expires. When you share documents with your tenant, you'll see when they open each one.
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Three licensing regimes, one address
In England, landlord licensing comes in three layers. Mandatory HMO licensing applies everywhere, to any HMO of five or more people from two or more households who share facilities. Additional HMO licensing is a council scheme for smaller shared homes. Selective licensing covers every privately rented home in a designated area, single lets included, unless it needs an HMO licence instead. The first depends on who lives in the property. The other two start with where it is, which is what a postcode lookup can check.
Schemes change. A designation lasts up to five years, and a renewal can redraw the boundary. Our records hold the dates, fees and council source for each verified scheme. For what a licence requires once you have one, see the guides to HMO compliance and selective licensing.
Common questions
What is selective licensing?
A council scheme that requires privately rented homes in a designated area to be licensed, whatever their size, unless they need an HMO licence instead. A designation lasts up to five years, and letting without a licence can mean a civil penalty of up to £40,000 and a rent repayment order.
What is additional HMO licensing?
Licensing for HMOs the mandatory rules miss, usually smaller ones shared by three or four people. The council can designate its whole area or only part of it.
How do I know if my property needs a licence?
Mandatory HMO licensing applies anywhere in England if five or more people from two or more households share facilities. Additional licensing applies to an HMO inside an area the council has designated for it. Any other let inside a selective licensing area needs a selective licence. Confirm with the council, as schemes change during the year.
What happens if I let without a required licence?
It’s an offence. The council can prosecute, with an unlimited fine, or issue a civil penalty of up to £40,000, and your tenant can apply for a rent repayment order of up to 24 months’ rent. A properly made licence application that’s still being considered is a defence from the date you apply, though not for the months before.
Why does the result say “our records indicate”?
Councils start, renew and end schemes during the year, and near a boundary a postcode can’t show which side of it an address is on. So check the date our records were verified and the council’s own page, which has the final word.