LetLens / Licensing by council / Manchester

Landlord licensing in Manchester

Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Manchester let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Manchester also runs 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 Manchester 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£1,321 for a 5-bedroom HMOband 5-5 occupants
WhereEverywhere in Manchester, as everywhere in England. Scope, fee schedule and source
What Manchester 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 needNo additional HMO licence No scheme
Your propertyLet privately inside a designated area, whether or not it is an HMO
You needSelective licence In force
It costs£798, the same for a rental of any size
Where346 designated postcodes, not the whole of Manchester. 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 In force
WhereInside the designated area: the whole council area. There is no part of the council outside it. 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.

Most recent source check: 6 August 2026. Each figure below carries the date its own source was read.

Or open M13 9PD, a postcode near the centre of Manchester, to see what a full report looks like.

Each scheme in detail, and the evidence behind it

Which properties each scheme catches in Manchester, 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

Set by national law, not by the council. Any property let to five or more people forming two or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet needs a licence, anywhere in England.

Fee, 5-bed HMO£1,321band 5-5 occupants

Where it applies: National scheme
Which properties: 5+ occupants forming 2+ households

The published fee schedule

Size charge: £100 per occupant above per additional occupant band above 5 occupants (Admin Fee rises approx GBP100 per band up to 25-49, Grant Fee fixed at GBP456)
Renewal: £1,121
Licence term: Up to 5 years
Fee schedule dated: 2025

Fee by number of occupants, all 7 bands

Size	Fee	Part 1 + part 2
5	£1,321	£865 + £456
6 to 9	£1,421	£965 + £456
10 to 14	£1,521	£1,065 + £456
15 to 19	£1,621	£1,165 + £456
20 to 24	£1,721	£1,265 + £456
25 to 49	£1,821	£1,365 + £456
50 or more	£2,721	£2,265 + £456

Renewal fee by number of occupants, all 7 bands

Size	Fee	Part 1 + part 2
5	£1,121	£665 + £456
6 to 9	£1,221	£765 + £456
10 to 14	£1,321	£865 + £456
15 to 19	£1,421	£965 + £456
20 to 24	£1,521	£1,065 + £456
25 to 49	£1,621	£1,165 + £456
50 or more	£2,521	£2,065 + £456

Discounts

Subsequent New Applications (GBP50 discount per subsequent application): £50
Renewal Application (GBP200 discount): £200

Council source · How to apply · read 6 August 2026

Additional HMO licensing No scheme

A council may extend HMO licensing to smaller HMOs, typically three or four sharers, across all or part of its area.

Council source · read 6 August 2026

Selective licensing In force

A council may require a licence for every private rented home in a designated area, whether or not it is an HMO.

Licence fee, any size£798

Where it applies: 346 designated postcodes
Which properties: Privately rented dwellings in the designated sub-area that do not require a mandatory HMO licence This is the council’s wording for one designation. 14 are in force under this scheme and they cover different areas, so read them together rather than treating this line as the whole scope.
Designations in force: Ben Street: Clayton and Openshaw
Droylsden Road area and Scotland Street area: Miles Platting and Newton Heath
Enver Road area: Crumpsall
Flats above shops and Esmond / Avondale area: Cheetham
Great Western Street / Claremont Road: Moss Side
Heathcote / Sanby Road area and Northmoor Road area: Longsight
Hyde Road: Gorton and Abbey Hey
Laindon / Dickenson Road and Birch Lane: Rusholme
Matthews Lane: Levenshulme
The Ladders: Gorton and Abbey Hey
The Royals: Longsight
Trinity: Harpurhey ward
Viscount Street area and Heald Grove area: Moss Side
Whiteway Street area: Harpurhey
Designation period: 1 May 2022 to 30 April 2027
24 May 2025 to 23 May 2030
24 May 2025 to 23 May 2030
24 May 2025 to 23 May 2030
9 August 2023 to 8 August 2028
24 May 2025 to 23 May 2030
1 May 2022 to 30 April 2027
9 August 2023 to 8 August 2028
9 August 2023 to 8 August 2028
1 May 2022 to 30 April 2027
9 August 2023 to 8 August 2028
1 May 2022 to 30 April 2027
24 May 2025 to 23 May 2030
24 May 2025 to 23 May 2030

Ben Street: Clayton and Openshaw covers Clayton and Openshaw.

Droylsden Road area and Scotland Street area: Miles Platting and Newton Heath covers Miles Platting and Newton Heath.

Enver Road area: Crumpsall covers Crumpsall.

Flats above shops and Esmond / Avondale area: Cheetham covers Cheetham.

Great Western Street / Claremont Road: Moss Side covers Moss Side.

Heathcote / Sanby Road area and Northmoor Road area: Longsight covers Longsight.

Hyde Road: Gorton and Abbey Hey covers Gorton and Abbey Hey.

Laindon / Dickenson Road and Birch Lane: Rusholme covers Rusholme.

Matthews Lane: Levenshulme covers Levenshulme.

The Ladders: Gorton and Abbey Hey covers Gorton and Abbey Hey.

The Royals: Longsight covers Longsight.

Trinity: Harpurhey ward covers Harpurhey.

Viscount Street area and Heald Grove area: Moss Side covers Moss Side.

Whiteway Street area: Harpurhey covers Harpurhey.

A designation can cover only part of a named ward, so check the exact address rather than relying on the ward name alone.

The published fee schedule for Ben Street: Clayton and Openshaw, Hyde Road: Gorton and Abbey Hey, The Ladders: Gorton and Abbey Hey and Trinity: Harpurhey ward

Fee: £798
Paid in two parts: £402 on application, then £396 when the licence is granted
Renewal: £694
Licence term: Up to 5 years
Fee schedule dated: 2022

Discounts

Early bird / early payment discount (reduced Grant fee): £207

Other charges

Subsequent application/fee (reduced application fee) total: £694

The published fee schedule for Droylsden Road area and Scotland Street area: Miles Platting and Newton Heath, Enver Road area: Crumpsall, Flats above shops and Esmond / Avondale area: Cheetham, Heathcote / Sanby Road area and Northmoor Road area: Longsight, Viscount Street area and Heald Grove area: Moss Side and Whiteway Street area: Harpurhey

Fee: £964
Paid in two parts: £469 on application, then £495 when the licence is granted
Renewal: £864
Licence term: Up to 5 years
Fee schedule dated: 2025

Discounts

Early bird / early payment discount (reduced Grant fee): £200

Other charges

Subsequent application/fee (reduced application fee) total: £864

The published fee schedule for Great Western Street / Claremont Road: Moss Side, Laindon / Dickenson Road and Birch Lane: Rusholme, Matthews Lane: Levenshulme and The Royals: Longsight

Fee: £936
Paid in two parts: £490 on application, then £446 when the licence is granted
Renewal: £828
Licence term: Up to 5 years
Fee schedule dated: 2023

Discounts

Early bird / early payment discount (reduced Grant fee): £200

Other charges

Subsequent application/fee (reduced application fee) total: £828

Council source · read 6 August 2026

Article 4 and HMO planning permission in Manchester In force

An HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Manchester covering the whole council area, so the permitted-development right to convert a house (C3) into a small HMO (C4) has been removed and planning permission is needed there. Every one of Manchester's 14,279 postcodes is inside a designated area.

HMO Article 4 direction, the whole council area

Article 4(1) Direction - change of use from Class C3 (dwellinghouse) to Class C4 (house in multiple occupation)

Area: the whole council area
Right removed: C3 to C4 (small HMO)
Made: 7 October 2010
In force from: 8 October 2011

Council notice or order · Boundary map

A licence is not planning permission

These are two separate consents from two separate parts of the council, and getting one does not give you the other. A licensing team can grant an HMO licence for a property that needed planning permission and never got it.

Where the permission was needed and is missing, the usual consequence lands on the licence. Councils commonly grant a short licence, often twelve months rather than the full term, to give the owner time to apply. If permission is not applied for, is refused, or an appeal fails, the council will generally refuse to extend and let the licence expire, and will generally refuse a fresh application outright once permission has been finally refused. At that point the property cannot lawfully be let as an HMO at all.

This is council practice rather than a statutory rule, and it varies, so confirm it with Manchester before you rely on it. Nottingham City Council publishes its version explicitly and is quoted here as a worked example of the approach.

Nottingham City Council, HMO and permitted development. Indicative only, not planning or legal advice.

The research note behind this verdict

Official Manchester City Council Article 4 confirmation notice (Notice pursuant to Article 5(11)) states the HMO Article 4(1) Direction was MADE on 7 October 2010, CONFIRMED on 17 January 2011, and CAME INTO FORCE on 8 October 2011. It removes permitted development rights for change of use from Class C3 (dwellinghouse) to Class C4 (small HMO, 3-6 sharers) under GPDO Sch2 Part3 Class L. Contrary to the assumption that it covers only the student belt (Fallowfield/Withington), the confirmation notice explicitly states: 'The Article 4 Direction applies to the whole of the Manchester City Council area.' It is therefore CITY-WIDE / boroughwide, so the effective area equals the full LAD boundary E08000003 (saved GeoJSON is the ONS Manchester local authority boundary, WGS84). manchester.gov.uk HTML pages are Cloudflare-protected; official pages/PDF were retrieved via the Wayback Machine copy of the manchester.gov.uk confirmation notice PDF. No separate street list applies (city-wide). map_url points to the official confirmation notice PDF which references the map defining the area (whole council area).

Manchester Article 4 page · checked 25 July 2026

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 Manchester multiplies the exposure rather than capping it.

Sources: Housing Act 2004 s72 · SI 2026/319 · Renters' Rights Act 2025 s103 · Shelter Legal England. Indicative only, not legal advice.

The letting market in Manchester

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£641 pcmFrom 1,249 room listings in Manchester.
Median whole-property rent£1,334 pcmFrom 355 whole-property listings.
Typical 4-bed rent£1,862 pcmThe comparison a room-by-room let is measured against.
HMO income premium+72%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£255,000Across 1,139 sales in 2026, all property types, HM Land Registry.
Gross yield, whole let6.3%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 HMO15.1%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£34,104Mean of net small-area median incomes around the council's main listing areas, not a council-wide median.
Postcodes with flood exposure6.5%930 of 14,279 indexed postcodes.
Postcodes in Flood Zone 3272 (1.9%)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 Manchester’s outcodes, which is worth knowing too: the council-wide median above travels reasonably well here.

Median room rent by outcode in Manchester
Outcode	Median room rent	Room listings	Check a postcode
M14	£650 pcm	400	Check M14
M20	£650 pcm	173	Check M20
M13	£650 pcm	134	Check M13
M21	£650 pcm	80	Check M21
M19	£618 pcm	80	Check M19

Postcode districts in Manchester

Licensing, Article 4 and the fee all turn on the exact address, because a designated area rarely follows the council boundary. LetLens holds 14,279 Manchester 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 Manchester?

How much does an HMO licence cost in Manchester?

£1,321 for a five-bedroom, five-person HMO under the mandatory scheme, from the council's published fee schedule. Fee basis: band 5-5 occupants. Larger or smaller properties, and any additional or selective scheme, are priced separately.

Is there an Article 4 direction in Manchester?

Which wards in Manchester are covered by licensing?

Selective licensing under Ben Street: Clayton and Openshaw covers Clayton and Openshaw. Selective licensing under Droylsden Road area and Scotland Street area: Miles Platting and Newton Heath covers Miles Platting and Newton Heath. Selective licensing under Enver Road area: Crumpsall covers Crumpsall. Selective licensing under Flats above shops and Esmond / Avondale area: Cheetham covers Cheetham. Selective licensing under Great Western Street / Claremont Road: Moss Side covers Moss Side. Selective licensing under Heathcote / Sanby Road area and Northmoor Road area: Longsight covers Longsight. Selective licensing under Hyde Road: Gorton and Abbey Hey covers Gorton and Abbey Hey. Selective licensing under Laindon / Dickenson Road and Birch Lane: Rusholme covers Rusholme. Selective licensing under Matthews Lane: Levenshulme covers Levenshulme. Selective licensing under The Ladders: Gorton and Abbey Hey covers Gorton and Abbey Hey. Selective licensing under The Royals: Longsight covers Longsight. Selective licensing under Trinity: Harpurhey ward covers Harpurhey. Selective licensing under Viscount Street area and Heald Grove area: Moss Side covers Moss Side. Selective licensing under Whiteway Street area: Harpurhey covers Harpurhey. A designation can cover only part of a named ward, so check the exact address rather than relying on the ward name alone.

What is the penalty for letting an unlicensed property in Manchester?

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.

Do I need planning permission for an HMO in Manchester?

Where an Article 4 direction applies, yes: it removes the permitted-development right to change a house (use class C3) into a small HMO (use class C4), so that change needs a planning application. An HMO for seven or more residents needs permission anywhere, Article 4 or not. Planning is separate from licensing, and a licence does not give you permission. Where permission was needed and not obtained, councils commonly grant a licence for about twelve months rather than the full term, and generally refuse to extend it if permission is not then granted, which leaves the property unable to be let as an HMO. Practice varies by council, so confirm it with Manchester.

Can I convert a house into a small HMO in Manchester without planning permission?

Not inside the Article 4 area. The direction removes the permitted-development right, so a change of use from C3 to C4 needs a planning application. The direction covers the whole of Manchester, so there is no part of the council where the right still applies.

About Manchester

Manchester is a local housing authority in North West, with a population of about 556,000 and 14,279 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 Manchester

Manchester licensing team · [email protected] · 0333 600 6330