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Live dataset · updated 14/09/2026

Landlord licensing in England: the 2026 numbers

Every figure on this page is computed from our licensing dataset for England, which we keep current. Journalists and researchers are welcome to cite these numbers with attribution and a link. For a specific council, see the A to Z of council pages.

296
English councils tracked
82
councils with additional or selective schemes
58
additional licensing designations in force
74
selective licensing designations in force
23
designations expiring within 12 months
£1072
average mandatory HMO licence fee

Mandatory HMO licence fees

Across councils publishing a standard fee, the average mandatory HMO licence costs £1072. The highest on record is £2750 (Lambeth); the lowest is £163.9 (Redditch). Most councils revise fees each April, and many use multi-part or per-bedroom structures, so the figure shown for each council is the standard total for a typical 5-bedroom HMO.

Designations expiring in the next 12 months

Additional and selective schemes last up to 5 years. When one ends, the council either redesignates (landlords must apply again) or lets it lapse (renewals stop being required). Either way, landlords in these areas need to pay attention:

About this data

296 of 296 councils have been verified and are kept up to date, most recently on 14/09/2026. Anything that cannot be confirmed is flagged for review rather than guessed. Citation format: “SUCASA licensing dataset, sucasa.rent/licensing/statistics, accessed 15/09/2026”.

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