LetLens / Licensing by council / Gateshead
Landlord licensing in Gateshead
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Gateshead let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Gateshead also runs additional HMO licensing and selective licensing, which can bring smaller HMOs, or every private rental, into licensing.
The licence you need turns on who lives in the property. Find the line that describes your let.
- Required by national lawThe same in all 296 English councils. Not a Gateshead decision.
Your propertyLet to 5 or more people forming 2 or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet
You needMandatory HMO licence In force England-wide
It costs£976.30 for a 5-bedroom HMOband 1-14 bedrooms
WhereEverywhere in Gateshead, as everywhere in England. Scope, fee schedule and source
- What Gateshead requires on topSchemes this council chose to run, and what differs from the council next door.
Your propertyA smaller shared house the national scheme does not reach, typically 3 or 4 sharers forming 2 or more households
You needAdditional HMO licence In force
It costs£976.30, the same for an HMO of any size
WhereDesignated area (postcode-resolved), not the whole of Gateshead. Scope, fee schedule and source
Your propertyLet privately inside a designated area, whether or not it is an HMO
You needSelective licence In force
It costs£850, the same for a rental of any size
WhereDesignated area (postcode-resolved), not the whole of Gateshead. Scope, fee schedule and source
- Planning permission, a separate questionNot licensing. Whether you may create an HMO at all, decided by the council’s planning side.
Your planConverting a house (use class C3) into a small HMO (use class C4)
You needPlanning permission None in force
WhereNo direction here, so this is normally permitted development. The direction, its dates and its boundary
Each fee is for the example property named on its own line, from the council’s published schedule. Other sizes are priced separately; the full schedules, discounts and surcharges are below.
Or open NE11 9QL, a postcode near the centre of Gateshead, to see what a full report looks like.
Each scheme in detail, and the evidence behind it
Which properties each scheme catches in Gateshead, in the council’s own words, with the designations in force, the whole published fee schedule and the source for every figure. The three regimes can stack: a property can need a licence under one and still be caught by another.
Mandatory HMO licensing In force England-wide
Fee, 5-bed HMO£976.30band 1-14 bedrooms
- Where it applies
- National scheme
- Which properties
- HMO occupied by 5 or more persons forming 2 or more households who share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen (mandatory HMO licensing, s55/s254-257 Housing Act 2004)
The published fee schedule
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- 2025
| Size | Fee | Part 1 + part 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 14 | £976.30 | £576.30 + £400 |
| 15 or more | £1,063.60 | £638.60 + £425 |
| Size | Fee | Part 1 + part 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 14 | £858.10 | £458.10 + £400 |
| 15 or more | £945.50 | £520.50 + £425 |
Discounts
- Multi-property discount (2nd and subsequent properties applied for at the same time by the same person): £10
Other charges
- Variation of HMO licence (at licence holder's request): £187.30
Additional HMO licensing In force
Licence fee, any size£976.30
- Where it applies
- Designated area (postcode-resolved)
- Which properties
- HMOs occupied by three or four unrelated persons living in two or more separate households sharing one or more basic amenity, that fall outside the scope of mandatory HMO licensing (Part 2, s56 Housing Act 2004), within the designated neighbourhoods
- Designations in force
- Gateshead Additional Licensing Designation 2025 (HMOs)
- Designation period
- 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2030
The published fee schedule
- Fee
- £976.30
- Paid in two parts
- £585.80 on application, then £390.50 when the licence is granted
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- June 2025
Discounts
- Accredited landlord / member of specified scheme (NRLA, UKALA, Safeagent, ARLA Propertymark, RICS, Guild of Letting and Management, Guild of Property Professionals, GPLA): £75
- Multi-property discount (2nd, 3rd etc. properties applied for at the same time by the same person): £10
Other charges, all 7
- Paper application (received after online system available): £50
- Incomplete/deficient application (returned or chased): £25
- Phased payment plan surcharge (per property, only for landlords/agents making 10 or more applications at once): £25
- Caution issue (alternative to prosecution): £300
- Public register - request for paper copy: £50
- Change of licence holder from managing agent to managing agent (owner unchanged) - new application: £255
- Change of licence holder from owner to managing agent (owner unchanged) - new application: £255
Selective licensing In force
Licence fee, any size£850
- Where it applies
- Designated area (postcode-resolved)
- Which properties
- Any privately rented property let or occupied under a tenancy or licence to a single person, two people sharing, or a single household, within the Phase 1 designated neighbourhoods (Part 3, s80 Housing Act 2004), unless exempt
- Designations in force
- Gateshead Selective Licensing Designation 2025 - Phase 1
Gateshead Selective Licensing Designation 2025 - Phase 2 - Designation period
- 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2030
1 October 2025 to 30 September 2030
The published fee schedule
- Fee
- £850
- Paid in two parts
- £510 on application, then £340 when the licence is granted
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- June 2025
Discounts
- Accredited landlord / member of specified scheme: £75
- Early bird discount (applying within three months of scheme designation): £75
- Multi-property discount (2nd, 3rd etc. properties applied for at the same time by the same person): £10
Other charges, all 7
- Paper application (received after online system available): £50
- Incomplete/deficient application (returned or chased): £25
- Phased payment plan surcharge (per property, only for landlords/agents making 10 or more applications at once): £25
- Caution issue (alternative to prosecution): £300
- Public register - request for paper copy: £50
- Change of licence holder from managing agent to managing agent (owner unchanged) - new application: £255
- Change of licence holder from owner to managing agent (owner unchanged) - new application: £255
Article 4 and HMO planning permission in Gateshead None in force
No HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Gateshead, so converting a house into a small HMO occupied by no more than six residents (use class C4) is normally permitted development and does not need planning permission on those grounds. An HMO for seven or more residents falls outside class C4 and needs permission anyway.
The research note behind this verdict
What happens if you let without a licence
Letting or managing an unlicensed property that needs a licence is a criminal offence, under section 72 of the Housing Act 2004 for an HMO and section 95 for a property caught by selective licensing. A council can prosecute, or impose a civil penalty instead. For conduct on or after 1 May 2026 that penalty can be up to £40,000 per offence, raised from £30,000 by the Financial Penalties (Housing Offences and Breach of Banning Orders) Regulations 2026. Tenants and the council can also apply for a rent repayment order, which for conduct from the same date can claw back up to two years of rent, up from one, under section 103 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
Both of those maxima apply only to conduct on or after 1 May 2026. Earlier conduct is still judged against the old £30,000 and twelve-month limits. Each breach is normally penalised separately, so an unlicensed portfolio in Gateshead multiplies the exposure rather than capping it.
The letting market in Gateshead
Licensing is only one side of the sum. These are medians from real listings we have collected, with the number of listings behind each one, because a median over a handful of adverts is a different claim from a median over hundreds.
- Median room rent£521 pcmFrom 120 room listings in Gateshead.
- Median whole-property rent£811 pcmFrom 125 whole-property listings.
- Typical 4-bed rent£1,247 pcmThe comparison a room-by-room let is measured against.
- HMO income premium+109%Five rooms let individually against one four-bedroom whole-property let, before the extra cost, licensing and voids that come with an HMO.
- Median sale price£161,075Across 570 sales in 2026, all property types, HM Land Registry.
- Gross yield, whole let6.0%Median whole-property rent for a year against the median sale price. Before voids, management, repairs, licensing and finance, all of which a real return has to carry.
- Gross yield, 5-room HMO19.4%Five rooms at the median room rent against the same median sale price. The higher figure is what pays for the licence, the extra management and the higher voids, rather than being profit on top of them.
- Typical household income£32,607Mean of net small-area median incomes around the council's main listing areas, not a council-wide median.
- Postcodes with flood exposure2.3%121 of 5,188 indexed postcodes.
- Postcodes in Flood Zone 353 (1.0%)The Environment Agency's highest-probability zone. Lenders and insurers ask about this one by name, and it is a subset of the exposure above.
Room rent by outcode
Room rent is fairly even across Gateshead’s outcodes, which is worth knowing too: the council-wide median above travels reasonably well here.
| Outcode | Median room rent | Room listings | Check a postcode |
|---|---|---|---|
| NE10 | £550 pcm | 21 | Check NE10 |
| NE8 | £530 pcm | 61 | Check NE8 |
Postcode districts in Gateshead
Licensing, Article 4 and the fee all turn on the exact address, because a designated area rarely follows the council boundary. LetLens holds 5,188 Gateshead postcodes. Open one of its postcode districts to see the verdict, the local rent evidence and the investment model.
Common questions
Do I need an HMO licence in Gateshead?
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Gateshead let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Gateshead also runs additional HMO licensing and selective licensing, which can bring smaller HMOs, or every private rental, into licensing. Additional HMO licensing covers Designated area (postcode-resolved). Selective licensing covers Designated area (postcode-resolved).
How much does an HMO licence cost in Gateshead?
£976.30 for a five-bedroom, five-person HMO under the mandatory scheme, from the council's published fee schedule. Fee basis: band 1-14 bedrooms. Larger or smaller properties, and any additional or selective scheme, are priced separately.
Is there an Article 4 direction in Gateshead?
No HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Gateshead, so converting a house into a small HMO occupied by no more than six residents (use class C4) is normally permitted development and does not need planning permission on those grounds. An HMO for seven or more residents falls outside class C4 and needs permission anyway.
What is the penalty for letting an unlicensed property in Gateshead?
Letting or managing a property that needs a licence without one is a criminal offence under the Housing Act 2004. The council can prosecute or impose a civil penalty, which for conduct on or after 1 May 2026 can be up to £40,000 per offence, raised from £30,000 by the Financial Penalties (Housing Offences and Breach of Banning Orders) Regulations 2026. Tenants or the council can also seek a rent repayment order covering up to two years of rent for conduct from that date, up from one year, under section 103 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Each breach is normally penalised separately. Indicative only, not legal advice.
About Gateshead
Gateshead is a local housing authority in North East, with a population of about 202,000 and 5,188 live postcodes indexed by LetLens. It is the licensing authority for every private rented property inside its boundary, and the local planning authority that decides whether an Article 4 direction applies.
Nearby councils
Licensing stops at the council boundary, so a street on the other side of it can carry a different scheme and a different fee.
Contact Gateshead
Gateshead licensing team · [email protected] · 0191 433 3926