Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Brent fines HMO manager £50,000 over Wembley overcrowding
Brent Council has fined a Wembley HMO manager £50,000 after more than 20 people were found in a property licensed for fewer than half that number.
HMO Licensing
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
St Helens issues £35,000 HMO penalties over licence breaches
St Helens Council has issued £35,000 in HMO civil penalties after finding a five-person shared home was unlicensed and poorly managed.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Telford Council withdraws £1,500-plus HMO licensing plan
Telford and Wrekin Council has withdrawn its smaller-HMO licensing designation after an NRLA challenge, removing proposed fees of more than £1,500 per property.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Croydon delays landlord licensing start to 25 September
Croydon Council has delayed the start of its new additional HMO and selective licensing schemes until 25 September, pushing back a 1 September launch and reopening the compliance timetable for affected landlords.
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Bristol City Council adds landlord fines up to £35,000
Bristol City Council has adopted a revised civil penalty policy that allows landlord fines up to £35,000, with the highest bands aimed at unlawful eviction, harassment and serious private housing breaches from 1 May 2026.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Reading HMO deadline leaves landlords facing £250 surcharge
Reading landlords with smaller HMOs have just over two weeks to apply for a new licence or risk a £250 surcharge, with the council also…
Buy-to-let Property News, Licensing
Propertymark seeks fairer sentencing for landlord offences
Propertymark has backed plans for clearer sentencing guidelines for housing offences, but warned that landlords and agents should not be hit by overlapping punishments that…
