LetLens / Licensing by council / Sefton
Landlord licensing in Sefton
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Sefton let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Sefton 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 Sefton 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£1,070 for a 5-bedroom HMO£950 base + £30/unit over 1
WhereEverywhere in Sefton, as everywhere in England. Scope, fee schedule and source
- What Sefton 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£1,040 for a 4-bedroom HMO£950 base + £30/unit over 1
WhereDesignated area (postcode-resolved), not the whole of Sefton. 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£815 for a 5-bedroom rental£695 base + £30/unit over 1
WhereDesignated area (postcode-resolved), not the whole of Sefton. 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.
Or open L29 3EA, a postcode near the centre of Sefton, to see what a full report looks like.
Each scheme in detail, and the evidence behind it
Which properties each scheme catches in Sefton, 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£1,070£950 base + £30/unit over 1
- Where it applies
- National scheme
- Which properties
- HMOs with 5 or more occupants comprising two or more separate households, with shared amenities (bathroom, kitchen or toilet) or where units are not fully self-contained (mandatory HMO licensing, Housing Act 2004 s55/s254, Prescribed Description Order 2018)
The published fee schedule
- Base fee
- £950
- Size charge
- £30 per unit above 1
- Renewal
- £900
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- 1 April 2023
Discounts
- Accreditation discount (property accredited): £150
- Accredited managing agent (licence holder): £200
Other charges
- Amount payable on application (balance requested on production of draft licence): £250
Additional HMO licensing In force
Fee, 4-bed HMO£1,040£950 base + £30/unit over 1
- Where it applies
- Designated area (postcode-resolved)
- Which properties
- HMOs under Housing Act 2004 ss254 and 257 within the designated streets that are NOT subject to mandatory licensing: s254 HMOs occupied by 3 or 4 persons comprising 2 or more households sharing amenities (any number of storeys), and s257 HMOs (converted blocks of flats not complying with the 1991 Building Regulations where more than one third are let on short-term tenancies)
- Designations in force
- Sefton Additional HMO Licensing Designation 2023-2028 (Seaforth, Waterloo, Brighton-le-Sands and central Southport)
- Designation period
- 1 March 2023 to 29 February 2028
The published fee schedule
- Base fee
- £950
- Size charge
- £30 per unit above 1
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- 1 April 2023
Discounts
- Accreditation discount (property accredited): £150
- Accredited managing agent (licence holder): £200
Other charges
- Amount payable on application (balance requested on production of draft licence): £250
Selective licensing In force
Fee, 5-bed rental£815£695 base + £30/unit over 1
- Where it applies
- Designated area (postcode-resolved)
- Which properties
- All privately rented accommodation (no matter its description) within the designated streets in parts of Bootle, except HMOs that meet the prescribed description for mandatory HMO licensing; owner/landlord must hold a selective licence to let the property
- Designations in force
- Sefton Selective Licensing Designation 2023-2028 (parts of Bootle)
- Designation period
- 1 March 2023 to 29 February 2028
The published fee schedule
- Base fee
- £695
- Size charge
- £30 per unit above 1
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- 1 April 2023
Discounts
- Accreditation discount (property accredited): £150
- Accredited managing agent (licence holder): £200
Other charges
- Amount payable on application (balance requested on production of draft licence): £150
Article 4 and HMO planning permission in Sefton In force
3 HMO Article 4 directions are in force in Sefton 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 Sefton's 6,698 postcodes is inside a designated area.
HMO Article 4 direction, the whole council area
- Area
- the whole council area
- Right removed
- C3 to C4 (small HMO)
- Confirmed
- 5 February 2026
- In force from
- 15 October 2025
HMO Article 4 direction, a mapped boundary
- Area
- a mapped boundary
- Right removed
- C3 to C4 (small HMO)
- Confirmed
- 4 December 2025
- In force from
- 2 July 2025
HMO Article 4 direction, a mapped boundary
- Area
- a mapped boundary
- Right removed
- C3 to C4 (small HMO)
- Made
- 20 September 2017
- Confirmed
- 21 June 2018
- In force from
- 20 September 2018
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 Sefton 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 Sefton multiplies the exposure rather than capping it.
The letting market in Sefton
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£538 pcmFrom 92 room listings in Sefton.
- Median whole-property rent£935 pcmFrom 180 whole-property listings.
- Typical 4-bed rent£1,862 pcmThe comparison a room-by-room let is measured against.
- HMO income premium+44%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£225,000Across 827 sales in 2026, all property types, HM Land Registry.
- Gross yield, whole let5.0%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 HMO14.3%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£33,039Mean of net small-area median incomes around the council's main listing areas, not a council-wide median.
- Postcodes with flood exposure4.7%312 of 6,698 indexed postcodes.
- Postcodes in Flood Zone 3269 (4.0%)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 Sefton
Licensing, Article 4 and the fee all turn on the exact address, because a designated area rarely follows the council boundary. LetLens holds 6,698 Sefton 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 Sefton?
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Sefton let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Sefton 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 Sefton?
£1,070 for a five-bedroom, five-person HMO under the mandatory scheme, from the council's published fee schedule. Fee basis: £950 base + £30/unit over 1. Larger or smaller properties, and any additional or selective scheme, are priced separately.
Is there an Article 4 direction in Sefton?
3 HMO Article 4 directions are in force in Sefton 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 Sefton's 6,698 postcodes is inside a designated area.
What is the penalty for letting an unlicensed property in Sefton?
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 Sefton?
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 Sefton.
Can I convert a house into a small HMO in Sefton 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 Sefton, so there is no part of the council where the right still applies.
About Sefton
Sefton is a local housing authority in North West, with a population of about 276,000 and 6,698 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 Sefton
Sefton licensing team · [email protected] · 0345 140 0845