Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Propertymark warns £40k penalties raise licensing risk
Propertymark says landlord licensing costs and penalty risks are rising as councils consult on new schemes ahead of the PRS Database rollout.
Landlord Licensing News
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Norwich review backs wider landlord licensing evidence
Norwich City Council’s latest private rented sector review says the evidence backs city-wide licensing for smaller HMOs and selective licensing in four wards, putting landlords on notice before any formal consultation opens.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Stoke-on-Trent opens HMO cap and wider licensing plan
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has opened a consultation on ward-by-ward HMO caps, a city-wide Article 4 direction and wider additional licensing for smaller shared homes.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Preston proposes £1,050 landlord licensing fee
Preston City Council has opened consultation on a selective licensing scheme that would charge landlords £1,050 per property in three wards, with responses due before ministers decide whether the plan can proceed.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
High Court backs Thurrock landlord licensing again
The High Court has backed Thurrock’s selective landlord licensing scheme for a second time, leaving the 16-ward rollout in place and adding a fresh £7,500 costs warning for landlords hoping the challenge would delay enforcement.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Ealing opens new HMO licensing consultation for 2027
Ealing Council has opened a consultation on a new borough-wide additional licensing scheme for smaller HMOs, with the proposed five-year designation due to start in April 2027 if approved.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
St Helens opens borough-wide HMO Article 4 consult
St Helens Council has opened a six-week borough-wide Article 4 consultation on small HMOs, starting a 12-month path to tighter planning control across the borough if the move goes ahead.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Greenwich opens 18-ward landlord licensing consult as councils widen HMO rules
Greenwich has opened a consultation on an 18-ward selective licensing scheme, while Ealing and Hertsmere move on smaller HMO controls and standards in a fresh summer push on landlord compliance.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Slough opens 10-week consultation on 17,000-home licensing plan
Slough Borough Council has opened a 10-week consultation on licensing plans that could pull almost 17,000 private rented homes into new controls, with landlords facing fees of £750 for selective licences and £950 for additional HMO licences.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Birmingham finds six suspected social sublets in Airbnb crackdown
Birmingham City Council says early checks under its new Airbnb data-sharing deal have identified six suspected social housing fraud cases, as councils widen digital enforcement against illegal subletting.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
NRLA: councils collect only 25% of landlord fines
NRLA data shows councils in England are collecting only 24.9 percent of civil penalties issued to private landlords, just as tougher HHSRS on-the-spot fines move into force.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Hyde Park Gate retrial leaves HMO operator with £62,177 bill
A Hyde Park Gate landlord and his property management company were left with a combined £62,176.68 bill after a retrial over an unsafe 22-room HMO, with fresh costs and penalties imposed after the latest ruling.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
NRLA warns easier licensing would duplicate PRS database
NRLA warns ministers not to let the PRS Database become a route to lighter council licensing checks, saying any shift could duplicate compliance systems rather than cut landlord admin.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Lincoln council fines landlord £4,000 over dangerous HMO
City of Lincoln Council has fined a landlord £4,000 after seven HMO management breaches were found at a property with fire safety failures, electrical risks, damp and disrepair.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Upper Tribunal blocks Portsmouth blanket HMO licence conditions
An Upper Tribunal ruling has blocked Portsmouth City Council from imposing blanket HMO licence conditions across licensed properties, limiting how the council can dictate tenancy wording and other discretionary terms.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
County Durham tightens HMO test before 17 August switch
County Durham is tightening its HMO planning test before the countywide Article 4 switch on 17 August, with new proposals to block approvals where shared housing is already concentrated.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Westminster fee rise lifts landlord licensing costs to £2,167
Westminster has confirmed a £1,540 additional HMO licence fee from 31 August, lifting total landlord licensing costs to £2,167 in one of several council scheme changes hitting landlords this summer.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Hertsmere warns four Potters Bar HMOs after waste action
Hertsmere Borough Council has served Section 46 notices on four Potters Bar HMOs after waste complaints, warning landlords that fixed penalties can follow if bin and rubbish arrangements are not brought under control.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Tribunal blocks Waltham Forest landlord penalty over six-month limit
Waltham Forest Council has lost an Upper Tribunal appeal after trying to uphold a £15,600 financial penalty against a landlord over an unlicensed HMO, in…
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Sefton Council prosecution leaves landlord company with £6,600 bill
Sefton Council says a landlord-owned company was left with a £6,600 bill after pleading guilty to running an unlicensed rented property.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Westminster renews smaller HMO licensing with 31 August deadline
Westminster says landlords with smaller HMOs must hold or apply for a licence by 31 August after renewing its borough-wide additional licensing scheme.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Tower Hamlets secures banning orders against rogue HMO operators
Tower Hamlets Council has secured three-year banning orders against a property management company and its two directors after a Poplar flat was run as an unlicensed HMO with overcrowding and fire safety failings.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Three Rivers plans Article 4 HMO controls after five-month rise
Three Rivers District Council is preparing an Article 4 direction for smaller HMOs after reporting a five-month rise in potential shared homes, with a 12-month lead-in now in view for landlords.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Luton Council starts landlord licensing from 1 June after court defeat
Luton Council has opened borough-wide HMO and selective licensing from 1 June, with reduced fees available until 31 August after its legal challenge ended.
