This tool cannot check your postcode, and no honest tool can. Additional and selective licensing designations are set by individual councils, drawn at ward or street level, and changed every few years. There is no national database to query. What this does is tell you which scheme could apply to you and exactly what to look up on your own council’s site — which is the only authoritative source.
Why this matters
Letting without a required licence now risks a civil penalty of up to £30,000 and a rent repayment order of up to two years’ rent, which the tenant can apply for directly. The commonest way landlords fall into it is owning an ordinary flat, letting it to one family, and not noticing that the council designated a selective scheme covering the street. Nobody writes to tell you.
The checker
The three schemes
| Scheme | Trigger | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory HMO | 5 or more people in 2 or more households sharing facilities | Everywhere in England. No council designation needed. |
| Additional HMO | Smaller HMOs, usually 3 or 4 people | Only where your council has designated a scheme |
| Selective | All privately rented homes, HMO or not — including a single family let | Only where your council has designated an area |
How to check your council properly
- Search for “[your council] property licensing” or “[your council] selective licensing”. Use the council’s own site, not a third-party checker.
- Look for a designation map or postcode checker, and enter the full address — not the postcode district. Boundaries are frequently drawn street by street.
- Check the designation start and end dates. Schemes expire and are replaced.
- Check for a scheme in consultation. A consultation today is an obligation in six to twelve months.
- If you are buying, check before you exchange. Licence fees and conditions belong in your numbers.
- Check planning separately. Licensing and planning permission are different consents from different departments, and neither substitutes for the other.
If you think you may already be unlicensed, apply now. It is an offence to manage a licensable property without a licence, but there is a defence where a valid application has been duly made and is outstanding. Applying stops the exposure growing. It does not erase the period you were unlicensed, so take advice first if the sums are large.
Read next
Can a tool check my postcode automatically?
No. There is no national database of licensing designations, and councils publish them individually. Any tool claiming to check a postcode nationally is guessing.
Does a single family let ever need a licence?
Yes — under a selective licensing designation, every privately rented home in the area needs one, however ordinary the letting.
How many people make it a mandatory HMO?
Five or more, from two or more households, sharing a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. It counts people, not tenancy agreements.
Does one joint tenancy avoid HMO licensing?
No. Five sharers on one joint agreement is still a large HMO requiring a mandatory licence.
Does my lodger need a licence?
A resident landlord with one or two lodgers is usually outside HMO licensing, but check — and note a selective designation could still apply to other lettings you own.
What if I let unlicensed by mistake?
A civil penalty of up to £30,000 and a rent repayment order of up to two years’ rent are both possible. Apply as soon as you realise, and take advice on the historic period.
Sources. Housing Act 2004, Parts 2 and 3, and sections 72 and 95; Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (England) Order 2018; Housing and Planning Act 2016 on civil penalties and rent repayment orders; Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (c. 26) extending rent repayment orders to two years. Checked 8 September 2026.
Related: Compliance checklist · HMOs · All guides