LetLens / Licensing by council / Medway
Landlord licensing in Medway
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Medway let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Medway runs no additional or selective licensing scheme of its own, so smaller shared houses and ordinary rentals do not need a council licence here. A replacement additional HMO licensing and selective licensing designation has already been made and is due to start.
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 Medway 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£1,598.99, the same for an HMO of any size
WhereEverywhere in Medway, as everywhere in England. Scope, fee schedule and source
- What Medway 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 Proposed, not yet in force
Where6 designated wards, not the whole of Medway. Scope, fee schedule and source
Your propertyLet privately inside a designated area, whether or not it is an HMO
You needSelective licence Proposed, not yet in force
Where7 designated wards, not the whole of Medway. 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: part of the council area, see the direction below. Outside it the right still applies. 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. The full schedules, discounts and surcharges are below.
Or open ME7 5HU, a postcode near the centre of Medway, to see what a full report looks like.
What changes next in Medway
Already decided, not yet in force. A property bought today is bought into these, so they matter more than the current position if you are still choosing.
- Additional HMO licensing designationDate not yet setMedway proposed Additional HMO Licensing Scheme 2026 (consultation). Made but not in force yet, so it does not apply today.
- Selective licensing designationDate not yet setMedway proposed Selective Licensing Scheme 2026 (consultation). Made but not in force yet, so it does not apply today.
Each scheme in detail, and the evidence behind it
Which properties each scheme catches in Medway, 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
Licence fee, any size£1,598.99
- Where it applies
- National scheme
- Which properties
- HMOs occupied by 5 or more tenants forming 2 or more households who share facilities such as toilets, bathrooms or kitchens (mandatory HMO licensing under s55/s254 Housing Act 2004)
The published fee schedule
- Fee
- £1,598.99
- Renewal
- £894.33
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- 2026
Other charges, all 7
- Change of licence holder (a new application must be completed): £1,598.99
- Second or subsequent application: £1,421.12
- Renew a licence with significant changes: £1,016
- Licence changes such as a change of manager: £166.44
- Licence variation: £202.99
- Second reminder letter for an HMO licence: £49.29
- Fixed penalty notice for an unlicensed HMO: £211.11
Additional HMO licensing Proposed, not yet in force
- Where it applies
- 6 designated wards
- Which properties
- HMOs within the six proposed wards that are not already subject to mandatory HMO licensing (i.e. smaller HMOs shared by 3 or 4 occupiers forming 2+ households, and section 257 converted-block HMOs). Not yet in force; consultation closed 4 June 2026, final proposals to Cabinet summer 2026.
- Proposed
- Medway proposed Additional HMO Licensing Scheme 2026 (consultation)
Selective licensing Proposed, not yet in force
- Where it applies
- 7 designated wards
- Which properties
- All privately rented dwellings within the seven proposed wards. Not yet in force; consultation closed 4 June 2026, final proposals to Cabinet summer 2026.
- Proposed
- Medway proposed Selective Licensing Scheme 2026 (consultation)
Article 4 and HMO planning permission in Medway In force
An HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Medway covering part of the council area, see the direction below, so the permitted-development right to convert a house (C3) into a small HMO (C4) has been removed and planning permission is needed there. We hold 2,149 of Medway's 6,179 postcodes inside a designated area, about 34.8% of the council.
HMO Article 4 direction, part of the council area, see the direction below
- Area
- part of the council area, see the direction below
- Right removed
- C3 to C4 (small HMO)
- In force from
- 16 December 2025
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 Medway before you rely on it. Nottingham City Council publishes its version explicitly and is quoted here as a worked example of the approach.
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 Medway multiplies the exposure rather than capping it.
The letting market in Medway
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£631 pcmFrom 468 room listings in Medway.
- Median whole-property rent£1,358 pcmFrom 187 whole-property listings.
- Typical 4-bed rent£2,041 pcmThe comparison a room-by-room let is measured against.
- HMO income premium+55%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£312,500Across 776 sales in 2026, all property types, HM Land Registry.
- Gross yield, whole let5.2%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 HMO12.1%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£39,066Mean of net small-area median incomes around the council's main listing areas, not a council-wide median.
- Postcodes with flood exposure7.0%432 of 6,179 indexed postcodes.
- Postcodes in Flood Zone 3304 (4.9%)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 varies by £75 a month across Medway’s outcodes, so the council-wide median above is a starting point rather than the answer for a particular street.
| Outcode | Median room rent | Room listings | Check a postcode |
|---|---|---|---|
| ME2 | £675 pcm | 76 | Check ME2 |
| ME1 | £675 pcm | 50 | Check ME1 |
| ME5 | £638 pcm | 36 | Check ME5 |
| ME8 | £638 pcm | 26 | Check ME8 |
| ME7 | £600 pcm | 252 | Check ME7 |
Postcode districts in Medway
Licensing, Article 4 and the fee all turn on the exact address, because a designated area rarely follows the council boundary. LetLens holds 6,179 Medway 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 Medway?
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Medway let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Medway runs no additional or selective licensing scheme of its own, so smaller shared houses and ordinary rentals do not need a council licence here. A replacement additional HMO licensing and selective licensing designation has already been made and is due to start.
How much does an HMO licence cost in Medway?
£1,598.99 under the mandatory scheme, from the council's published fee schedule. The council charges the same whatever the size of the HMO. Any additional or selective scheme is priced separately.
Is there an Article 4 direction in Medway?
An HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Medway covering part of the council area, see the direction below, so the permitted-development right to convert a house (C3) into a small HMO (C4) has been removed and planning permission is needed there. We hold 2,149 of Medway's 6,179 postcodes inside a designated area, about 34.8% of the council.
What is the penalty for letting an unlicensed property in Medway?
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 Medway?
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 Medway.
Can I convert a house into a small HMO in Medway 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. Outside the designated area the right still applies. Check the exact address against the boundary before you commit.
About Medway
Medway is a local housing authority in South East, with a population of about 279,000 and 6,179 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 Medway
Medway licensing team · [email protected] · 01634 333333