Cheltenham: mandatory HMO licensing with a three-year maximum
Cheltenham requires a mandatory HMO licence for five or more people forming two or more households and sharing facilities. The maximum licence term is three years. Fees from 1 April 2026 are £400 for Part 1 and £570 for five bedrooms or bed-living rooms, with £55 for each additional room; the council's penalty wording contains several conflicting figures.
The mandatory threshold
Cheltenham requires a mandatory licence where five or more people form two or more households and share kitchen, bathroom or toilet facilities. Certain purpose-built blocks containing two or fewer self-contained flats are included. The maximum licence term is three years, so do not assume the five-year national pattern applies here.
Fees from 1 April 2026
Part 1 is displayed at £400. Part 2 is £570 for five bedrooms or bed-living rooms, with £55 for each additional room from six onwards. The council also lists £140 for specified new applications or works, £90 for reminders or missing documents and £100 for a missed or cancelled inspection. Confirm which charges apply to the property before paying.
Local scheme status needs confirmation
Current selective and additional HMO licensing schemes, areas, dates and fees were UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. Do not infer that no local designation exists from the mandatory HMO page alone; check the address before letting a smaller HMO or an ordinary private let.
Penalty figures conflict
Cheltenham's official material uses up to £5,000 for a condition breach in one passage, up to £30,000 elsewhere and up to £40,000 per offence in renewal guidance. These figures conflict and should not be collapsed into one current maximum. The council does state that unlicensed operation can attract an unlimited fine and that a rent repayment order may cover up to twelve months' rent or benefits.
Section 21 and planning
The council says a section 21 notice cannot be served while a required HMO is unlicensed unless it is licensed or subject to a management order. Seven or more occupants generally require planning permission. The current St Paul's Article 4 Direction removes C3-to-C4 permitted-development rights in its defined area and came into force on 11 June 2020.
Verify current Cheltenham HMO fees, licence terms, schemes, enforcement and St Paul's Article 4 boundary via the council's official pages. Illustrative guide - fees and penalty policies 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: UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. 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.