Bradford: mandatory HMO licensing only - and stackable discounts
Bradford is one of the larger English councils that publishes no selective licensing and no additional HMO licensing scheme. Its licensing role is the national one: mandatory licensing of higher-risk HMOs occupied by five or more people in two or more households. That makes Bradford simpler than most of Yorkshire - but its fee structure rewards landlords who get the property and the paperwork right first time.
The discounts are unusually generous - and they stack
Bradford offers 5% off for a complete application, 5% for registered charities, 5% for Unipol Code of Standards accreditation, and 15% where the property is assessed as up to standard - and they combine. On a licence for five to seven occupiers at £1,625.05 that is a meaningful reduction. The 5% for a complete application is the easiest money in English licensing: it costs nothing except having every certificate to hand before you start the form.
Two-part fees, and the first part is gone
Fees are charged in two instalments, with the initial fee non-refundable. For 2026-27 that's £585.01 up front for five to seven occupiers, £614.27 for eight to fourteen, and £643.52 for fifteen or more. Withdrawing an application - because a purchase fell through, or because you realised the property needed work first - does not get that back.
No selective scheme is not the same as no obligations
Every Bradford tenancy still needs annual gas safety, a five-yearly EICR with a copy to tenants inside 28 days, a valid EPC, deposit protection within 30 days, Right to Rent checks, working smoke and CO alarms and the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet. Councils without licensing schemes still enforce these - they simply do it reactively, on a tenant complaint, rather than through a licence application.
If you get it wrong
Bradford's published position on unlicensed HMOs is a civil penalty of up to £30,000, or prosecution, with the possibility of appearing on the rogue landlord register. Interim and final management orders are available, and tenants can apply for rent repayment orders covering up to twelve months' rent.
Verify current fees, discounts and the licensing position via Bradford Council's HMO licence and fees pages and its register of HMO licences. Illustrative guide - fees and schemes change; general information, not legal advice.
Renewal tracked from expiry, reminders from 60 days out, proof of service to tenants logged. Knows the 2-month early-renewal rule that keeps your date fixed.
Five years goes quicker than you think. Kept remembers so you don't have to - including the 28-day duty to give tenants a copy.
Expiry tracked from the certificate details you confirm - band E is the current minimum for most domestic private lets unless exempt, and proposed changes are flagged only when they become law.
30-day protection window tracked from the day the money lands - not the tenancy date - with prescribed information logged.
Check dates and follow-up dates for time-limited permissions, stored against each tenant.
Smoke alarms every storey, CO alarms where required, checked and dated at the start of every tenancy.
A one-off duty for tenancies that existed on 1 May 2026. Who was served, when, and how - the £7,000 question, answered with a dated record.
Preparation and export support for the future official registration process - clearly marked as planned.
Selective licensing (ordinary lets): No published scheme. See the local picture above - every other duty applies exactly as it does nationwide.
Add a postcode and Kept resolves the council, location and local context automatically.
Planned preparation and export support for the government's regional PRS Database rollout.