LetLens / Licensing by council / Stockton-on-Tees
Landlord licensing in Stockton-on-Tees
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Stockton-on-Tees let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Stockton-on-Tees 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 Stockton-on-Tees 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£1,250 for a 5-bedroom HMO£250/unit
WhereEverywhere in Stockton-on-Tees, as everywhere in England. Scope, fee schedule and source
- What Stockton-on-Tees 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£653, the same for a rental of any size
Where4 designated wards, not the whole of Stockton-on-Tees. 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. Other sizes are priced separately; the full schedules, discounts and surcharges are below.
Or open TS19 0AG, a postcode near the centre of Stockton-on-Tees, to see what a full report looks like.
Each scheme in detail, and the evidence behind it
Which properties each scheme catches in Stockton-on-Tees, 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£1,250£250/unit
- Where it applies
- National scheme
- Which properties
- You need a licence to let a House in Multiple Occupation to five or more people who are not from the same household but share rooms such as a bathroom or a kitchen (mandatory HMO licensing under s55/s254-257 Housing Act 2004; 5+ occupants forming 2+ households)
The published fee schedule
- Size charge
- £250 per unit
- Fee schedule dated
- 2025
Discounts
- Landlord accreditation scheme member (£50 discount per unit of accommodation, on application and renewal fees): £50
Other charges
- Add an owner to the property (licence holder remains the same): £50
Additional HMO licensing No scheme
Selective licensing In force
Licence fee, any size£653
- Where it applies
- 4 designated wards
- Which properties
- Any privately rented property within the designated areas that is not a licensable house in multiple occupation or subject to any statutory exemption and is occupied under a tenancy or a licence. The designated areas are Central Stockton, North Thornaby and Newtown (parts of the wards of Stockton Town Centre, Ropner, Mandale & Victoria and Newtown)
- Designations in force
- Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Designation of Areas for Selective Licensing of Privately Rented Properties 2024
- Designation period
- 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2029
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Designation of Areas for Selective Licensing of Privately Rented Properties 2024 covers Mandale & Victoria, Newtown, Ropner, Stockton Town Centre.
The published fee schedule
- Fee
- £653
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- 2024
Discounts
- Accredited landlord (Council Landlord Accreditation Scheme / PLuSS / NRLA / BLA member) at time of application - deducted from total (application + annual): £50
Other charges
- Application fee (per property, accompanies the application; component of the £653 whole-term total): £178
- Annual fee (per property, per year, charged each year from the designation date; £95 x 5 years = £475, making £178 + £475 = £653 over the term): £95
- Late application fee (per property, replaces the £178 application fee when an application is received >28 days after the property becomes licensable; late whole-term total £753): £278
Article 4 and HMO planning permission in Stockton-on-Tees None in force
No HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Stockton-on-Tees, 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.
HMO Article 4 direction, the whole council area
- Area
- the whole council area
- Right removed
- C3 to C4 (small HMO)
- Status
- authorised/pending - NOT yet in force (non-immediate, 12-month notice; expected effective ~2027)
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 Stockton-on-Tees multiplies the exposure rather than capping it.
The letting market in Stockton-on-Tees
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£460 pcmFrom 73 room listings in Stockton-on-Tees.
- Median whole-property rent£755 pcmFrom 117 whole-property listings.
- Typical 4-bed rent£1,408 pcmThe comparison a room-by-room let is measured against.
- HMO income premium+63%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£175,000Across 532 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 HMO15.8%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£37,356Mean of net small-area median incomes around the council's main listing areas, not a council-wide median.
- Postcodes with flood exposure3.0%167 of 5,497 indexed postcodes.
- Postcodes in Flood Zone 3127 (2.3%)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 is fairly even across Stockton-on-Tees’s outcodes, which is worth knowing too: the council-wide median above travels reasonably well here.
| Outcode | Median room rent | Room listings | Check a postcode |
|---|---|---|---|
| TS19 | £450 pcm | 22 | Check TS19 |
| TS17 | £450 pcm | 20 | Check TS17 |
Postcode districts in Stockton-on-Tees
Licensing, Article 4 and the fee all turn on the exact address, because a designated area rarely follows the council boundary. LetLens holds 5,497 Stockton-on-Tees 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 Stockton-on-Tees?
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Stockton-on-Tees let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Stockton-on-Tees also runs selective licensing, which can bring smaller HMOs, or every private rental, into licensing. Selective licensing covers 4 designated wards.
How much does an HMO licence cost in Stockton-on-Tees?
£1,250 for a five-bedroom, five-person HMO under the mandatory scheme, from the council's published fee schedule. Fee basis: £250/unit. Larger or smaller properties, and any additional or selective scheme, are priced separately.
Is there an Article 4 direction in Stockton-on-Tees?
No HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Stockton-on-Tees, 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.
Which wards in Stockton-on-Tees are covered by licensing?
Selective licensing under Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Designation of Areas for Selective Licensing of Privately Rented Properties 2024 covers Mandale & Victoria, Newtown, Ropner, Stockton Town Centre. 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 Stockton-on-Tees?
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 Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a local housing authority in North East, with a population of about 197,000 and 5,497 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 Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees licensing team · [email protected] · 01642 527797