LetLens / Licensing by council / Peterborough

Landlord licensing in Peterborough

Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Peterborough let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Peterborough 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 Peterborough 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£1,100, the same for an HMO of any size
WhereEverywhere in Peterborough, as everywhere in England. Scope, fee schedule and source
What Peterborough 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£1,100, the same for an HMO of any size
WhereEverywhere in Peterborough. 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£908, the same for a rental of any size
WhereDesignated area (postcode-resolved), not the whole of Peterborough. 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. 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 PE3 9TJ, a postcode near the centre of Peterborough, to see what a full report looks like.

Each scheme in detail, and the evidence behind it

Which properties each scheme catches in Peterborough, 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.

Licence fee, any size£1,100

Where it applies: National scheme
Which properties: HMOs occupied by 5 or more persons forming 2 or more households (mandatory HMO licensing under s55/s254 Housing Act 2004)

The published fee schedule

Fee: £1,100
Paid in two parts: £367 on application, then £733 when the licence is granted
Licence term: Up to 5 years
Fee schedule dated: 2026

Council source · How to apply · read 6 August 2026

Additional HMO licensing In force

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

Licence fee, any size£1,100

Where it applies: Council-wide
Which properties: HMOs occupied by three or four persons (not all related) who share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen and that are NOT subject to mandatory licensing - i.e. small HMOs below the 5-person mandatory threshold
Designations in force: Peterborough Additional HMO Licensing Designation 2026
Designation period: 26 January 2026 to 25 January 2031

The published fee schedule

Fee: £1,100
Paid in two parts: £588 on application, then £512 when the licence is granted
Licence term: Up to 5 years
Fee schedule dated: 2026

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£908

Where it applies: Designated area (postcode-resolved)
Which properties: Any property rented out within the private rented sector inside the designated streets/areas requires a selective licence
Designations in force: Peterborough Selective Licensing Designation (Gladstone, Millfield, New England and Eastfield areas) 2024
Designation period: 11 March 2024 to 10 March 2029

The published fee schedule

Fee: £908
Paid in two parts: £538 on application, then £370 when the licence is granted
Licence term: Up to 5 years
Fee schedule dated: 2024

Council source · read 6 August 2026

Article 4 and HMO planning permission in Peterborough None in force

No HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Peterborough, 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

EXPIRED - our held record is out of date. Peterborough's HMO Article 4 was an explicit two-year TRIAL. The council's dedicated page (last updated 21 January 2026) states: 'Between 1 January 2024 and 1 January 2026, a trial HMO Article 4 Direction was in force. This removed the permitted development right from the areas of Fletton, Woodston, Hampton and Park to convert a Class C3 dwellinghouse into a small House in Multiple Occupation (HMO). As such, this Article 4 Direction has now expired and is no longer in force.' (https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/council/planning-and-development/planning-and-building/houses-in-multiple-occupation-article-4-direction). The two-year term was baked in from the start: the 2023 consultation page says the Direction 'has been submitted to the Secretary of State, to operate for two years from 1 January 2024' (https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/engagement-hub/small-homes-in-multiple-occupation-article-4-direction-fletton-woodston-hamptons-and-park). No replacement or successor direction has been made - the council says it is 'unable to advise whether the Article 4 will be reinstated at this time' and is still gathering evidence, so no commencement date is recorded (nothing has been made or dated). No other HMO/Class L direction exists: Peterborough's other 56 Article 4 Directions are householder/conservation ones (Barnack, Ailsworth, Werrington, Park Road etc., GPDO Parts 1/2/11/14) per https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/council/planning-and-development/conservation-trees-and-hedges/article-4-directions, and long-standing HMO petitions for Bretton and Hampton never produced a separate direction. CAUTION: the council's conservation Article 4 page still carries an unrevised line 'Houses in Multiple Occupation - Article 4 Direction came into force on 1 January 2024'; the dedicated HMO page is the later and specific source and is the one relied on here.

checked 26 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 Peterborough 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 Peterborough

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£574 pcmFrom 328 room listings in Peterborough.
Median whole-property rent£1,033 pcmFrom 138 whole-property listings.
Typical 4-bed rent£1,940 pcmThe comparison a room-by-room let is measured against.
HMO income premium+48%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£235,000Across 484 sales in 2026, all property types, HM Land Registry.
Gross yield, whole let5.3%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 HMO14.7%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£40,138Mean of net small-area median incomes around the council's main listing areas, not a council-wide median.
Postcodes with flood exposure4.9%216 of 4,402 indexed postcodes.
Postcodes in Flood Zone 3144 (3.3%)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 £50 a month across Peterborough’s outcodes, so the council-wide median above is a starting point rather than the answer for a particular street.

Median room rent by outcode in Peterborough
Outcode	Median room rent	Room listings	Check a postcode
PE1	£600 pcm	105	Check PE1
PE4	£588 pcm	24	Check PE4
PE3	£570 pcm	85	Check PE3
PE2	£550 pcm	114	Check PE2

Postcode districts in Peterborough

Licensing, Article 4 and the fee all turn on the exact address, because a designated area rarely follows the council boundary. LetLens holds 4,402 Peterborough 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 Peterborough?

How much does an HMO licence cost in Peterborough?

£1,100 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 Peterborough?

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

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 Peterborough

Peterborough is a local housing authority in East of England, with a population of about 203,000 and 4,402 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 Peterborough

Peterborough licensing team · [email protected] · 01733 747474