Free tool
How much could an unlicensed property cost you?
Fill in the five fields and the combined figure appears here. You don’t need to give your email.
HouseFile keeps each property’s licence reference and expiry date alongside its certificates.
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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Why the number is so large
Two costs stack up. A rent repayment order from the First-tier Tribunal makes you pay back rent for the time the property was let without the licence it needed. The Renters' Rights Act raised the maximum from 12 to 24 months' rent. On top of that, the council can impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000 per offence. Neither needs a prosecution first.
The part the calculator can’t tell you
Whether the property needs a licence at all. Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England. Everything else depends on schemes your council designates, and a street that needed nothing a few years ago can be inside one now. Our licensing checker looks up a postcode for the councils it covers. Elsewhere, the council's own page has the answer.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a rent repayment order?
- An order from the First-tier Tribunal that makes a landlord repay rent after certain housing offences, including letting a property without a licence it needed. Since the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 it can cover up to 24 months’ rent, for an offence committed in the two years before the application.
- Who can apply for a rent repayment order?
- The tenant, or the council if it paid housing benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit for the property. If the landlord has been convicted of a qualifying offence, the council must consider applying.
- How big can the civil penalty be for an unlicensed property?
- Up to £40,000 per offence, as the council’s alternative to prosecution, which carries an unlimited fine. The cap rose from £30,000 on 1 May 2026.
- How do I know whether my property needs a licence?
- In England, any HMO with five or more people from two or more households needs a mandatory licence. Smaller HMOs and single-family lets need one only where an additional or selective licensing scheme covers the address. Check the council’s licensing page or use our licensing checker.
- Does applying for a licence stop the exposure?
- From the date you apply, as long as the application is properly made and still being considered. It doesn’t cover the time before, so keep proof of when you applied.
Sources: Renters’ Rights Act 2025, s.98(3)(a), which amends Housing and Planning Act 2016 s.41(2)(b) from “12 months” to “2 years”; Housing Act 2004 s.249A(4), £40,000 substituted from 1 May 2026 by the Financial Penalties (Housing Offences and Breach of Banning Orders) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/319 reg 2. Checked 2026-09-07.