Does my rental property need a landlord licence?

Whether your property needs a licence depends on where it is located and how it is used. All HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) with 5 or more occupants require a mandatory licence. Many councils also operate selective licensing schemes covering all private rented properties in a defined area, and additional licensing schemes for smaller HMOs. Use the Tuxa checker to instantly find out if your property is in a licensing area.

What is selective licensing?

Selective licensing is a scheme introduced under the Housing Act 2004 that allows local councils to require all private landlords in a designated area to obtain a licence, regardless of the property type or number of occupants. Councils use selective licensing to tackle problems such as anti-social behaviour, low housing demand, or poor property conditions. Failure to obtain a licence can result in a fine of up to £30,000 or a rent repayment order.

What is additional licensing?

Additional licensing extends HMO licensing beyond the mandatory national standard. Councils can designate areas where smaller HMOs (typically those with 3 or more occupants forming two or more households) must also be licensed. Additional licensing schemes are common in university cities and areas with high concentrations of shared housing.

What happens if I rent a property without a licence?

Renting a property without the required licence is a criminal offence. Landlords can face an unlimited fine in court, or a civil penalty of up to £30,000 issued by the council. Tenants can also apply for a Rent Repayment Order, which can require the landlord to repay up to 12 months of rent. Unlicensed landlords cannot serve a valid Section 21 notice to regain possession of their property.

How do I find out if my area has a selective licensing scheme?

The quickest way is to use the Tuxa property licence checker. Enter any UK address or postcode and Tuxa will instantly check against all 361 UK councils to show whether the property is in a selective, additional or mandatory HMO licensing area. Results are free to view.

Types of Rental Licence in England: HMO, Additional and Selective

What Types of Rental Property Licences Exist in England?

If you are a landlord, tenant, or letting agent in England, understanding the different types of rental property licences is essential. There are three main types, all established under the Housing Act 2004: mandatory HMO licensing, additional licensing, and selective licensing. Each has different triggers, applies to different property types, and carries different consequences for non-compliance.

1. Mandatory HMO Licensing

Mandatory HMO licensing applies nationally to all Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) with five or more occupants forming two or more separate households. It has applied across England since 2006, with the threshold extended in October 2018 to include smaller HMOs of three or more storeys with five or more occupants.

An HMO is a property where at least three people from more than one household share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom. Common examples include student houses, bedsits, and shared professional accommodation.

Mandatory HMO licences are issued by the local council and typically last five years. Licence conditions cover fire safety, room sizes, management standards, and the landlord's fitness to hold a licence.

2. Additional Licensing

Additional licensing is a discretionary scheme that allows councils to extend HMO licensing requirements to smaller HMOs that fall below the mandatory threshold. A council can designate an additional licensing area to cover HMOs with three or four occupants forming two or more households.

Councils must consult for at least 10 weeks before introducing an additional licensing scheme and must demonstrate that a significant proportion of HMOs in the area are being managed ineffectively. Additional licensing schemes apply only in the designated area, not borough-wide.

3. Selective Licensing

Selective licensing is the broadest of the three schemes. It applies to all privately rented properties in a designated area, not just HMOs. A council can introduce selective licensing where it can demonstrate that the area suffers from low housing demand, significant anti-social behaviour, poor property conditions, or high levels of deprivation.

Since the General Approval 2024 came into force on 23 December 2024, local housing authorities in England no longer need Secretary of State approval to introduce selective licensing schemes of any size (for schemes covering up to 20% of the private rented sector). This has significantly accelerated the growth of selective licensing.

Comparison Table

Licence Type	Applies To	Geographic Scope	Trigger
Mandatory HMO	HMOs with 5+ occupants (2+ households)	National	Statutory threshold
Additional	HMOs with 3-4 occupants (2+ households)	Designated areas only	Council designation
Selective	All private rentals	Designated areas only	Council designation

The Scale of Licensing in England

According to Kamma, there are now 128 active licensing schemes across England, with 49 new schemes launched in 2025 alone. Nearly 70% of urban areas are covered by at least one scheme, rising to 88% in London. By the end of 2025, 21 out of 33 London local authorities had selective licensing schemes in place.

The top 50 UK councils have collected an estimated £327 million in fees through landlord licensing schemes, reflecting the significant scale of the licensing regime.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Operating a property without a required licence is a criminal offence. Penalties include civil financial penalties for operating without a licence of up to £30,000 (rising to £40,000 under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 from 1 May 2026), Rent Repayment Orders of up to 12 months' rent (rising to 24 months under the Renters' Rights Act 2025), and the inability to serve a valid Section 21 notice.

How to Check What Licence Your Property Needs

Use the Tuxa property licence checker to instantly check whether your property requires a mandatory HMO licence, additional licence, or selective licence. With schemes varying by street and boundary, and new schemes launching regularly, manual checks are increasingly unreliable. Tuxa monitors all active schemes and provides up-to-date results for any UK address.

Check Your Property Now

The fastest way to find out whether your property needs a licence is to use the Tuxa property licence checker — enter any UK address and get an instant result showing which schemes apply, scheme dates, and a direct link to the council's licensing page.