LetLens / Licensing by council / Redcar and Cleveland
Landlord licensing in Redcar and Cleveland
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Redcar and Cleveland let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Redcar and Cleveland's selective licensing designation has run past its end date, so check with the council before assuming no licence is needed: councils re-designate routinely and a renewal reaches us after it is made, not before.
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 Redcar and Cleveland 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£650 for a 5-bedroom HMOband 5-6 units
WhereEverywhere in Redcar and Cleveland, as everywhere in England. Scope, fee schedule and source
- What Redcar and Cleveland 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 Lapsed, confirm with the council
WhereNo active designation recorded, not the whole of Redcar and Cleveland. 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 Due 5 October 2026
Wherepart of the council area, see the direction below 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 TS14 6RQ, a postcode near the centre of Redcar and Cleveland, to see what a full report looks like.
What changes next in Redcar and Cleveland
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.
- HMO Article 4 direction5 October 2026Article 4 Direction - Change of use from C3 to C4 (HMOs), Coatham ward. From that date, converting a house into a small HMO inside its area needs planning permission.
Each scheme in detail, and the evidence behind it
Which properties each scheme catches in Redcar and Cleveland, 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£650band 5-6 units
- Where it applies
- National scheme
- Which properties
- HMOs occupied by 5 or more people forming 2 or more households, where some or all tenants share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen and at least one tenant pays rent (mandatory HMO licensing, s55/s254 Housing Act 2004)
The published fee schedule
- Size charge
- £10 per unit above 10
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- 2022/23
| Size | Fee |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | £600 |
| 5 to 6 | £650 |
| 7 to 8 | £700 |
| 9 to 10 | £750 |
Other charges
- Fit and Proper person check for licence holder: £30
- Fit and Proper person check for manager (if not the licence holder): £30
- Optional support service - named officer assistance completing the application (paid in advance): £50
Additional HMO licensing No scheme
Selective licensing Lapsed, confirm with the council
- Where it applies
- No active designation recorded
- Lapsed
- South Bank Selective Licensing Designation 2019 (designated area 2019-2024)
Article 4 and HMO planning permission in Redcar and Cleveland Due 5 October 2026
No HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Redcar and Cleveland yet, but one is due to take effect on 5 October 2026, covering Coatham ward if confirmed. Until then the permitted-development right to create a small HMO still applies.
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
- 5 October 2026
- Status
- Confirmed by Council 11 Jun 2026; NOT YET IN FORCE (in force 2026-10-05). Excluded from in-force count as of 2026-07-26. GeoJSON is the Coatham ward boundary (WGS84) as an approximation of the direction area.
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 Redcar and Cleveland 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 Redcar and Cleveland multiplies the exposure rather than capping it.
The letting market in Redcar and Cleveland
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£534 pcmFrom 56 room listings in Redcar and Cleveland.
- Median whole-property rent£688 pcmFrom 92 whole-property listings.
- Typical 4-bed rent£1,594 pcmThe comparison a room-by-room let is measured against.
- HMO income premium+68%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£172,750Across 404 sales in 2026, all property types, HM Land Registry.
- Gross yield, whole let4.8%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 HMO18.5%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£32,411Mean of net small-area median incomes around the council's main listing areas, not a council-wide median.
- Postcodes with flood exposure1.6%66 of 4,090 indexed postcodes.
- Postcodes in Flood Zone 341 (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.
Postcode districts in Redcar and Cleveland
Licensing, Article 4 and the fee all turn on the exact address, because a designated area rarely follows the council boundary. LetLens holds 4,090 Redcar and Cleveland 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 Redcar and Cleveland?
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Redcar and Cleveland let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Redcar and Cleveland's selective licensing designation has run past its end date, so check with the council before assuming no licence is needed: councils re-designate routinely and a renewal reaches us after it is made, not before.
How much does an HMO licence cost in Redcar and Cleveland?
£650 for a five-bedroom, five-person HMO under the mandatory scheme, from the council's published fee schedule. Fee basis: band 5-6 units. Larger or smaller properties, and any additional or selective scheme, are priced separately.
Is there an Article 4 direction in Redcar and Cleveland?
No HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Redcar and Cleveland yet, but one is due to take effect on 5 October 2026, covering Coatham ward if confirmed. Until then the permitted-development right to create a small HMO still applies.
What is the penalty for letting an unlicensed property in Redcar and Cleveland?
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 Redcar and Cleveland?
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 Redcar and Cleveland.
About Redcar and Cleveland
Redcar and Cleveland is a local housing authority in North East, with a population of about 137,000 and 4,090 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 Redcar and Cleveland
Redcar and Cleveland licensing team · [email protected] · 01287 612455