Cherwell: mandatory HMO licensing with four fee routes
Cherwell requires a mandatory HMO licence for five or more people forming two or more households, subject to the stated purpose-built-flat exemption. The council publishes four fee routes from 1 April 2026, a two-stage process and a register covering licences, TENs and management orders. Current selective and additional schemes were not confirmed.
The mandatory HMO test
Cherwell requires a licence where five or more people occupy the property, form two or more households and share facilities. An exempt purpose-built self-contained flat in a block of three or more self-contained flats is excluded under the council's guidance. Licences generally last five years but may be shorter.
Four fee routes from 1 April 2026
The higher-rate new or previously unlicensed route is £500 plus £840, a displayed total of £1,340. A standard new application or prompt licence-holder change is £500 plus £330, totalling £830. Higher-rate renewal is £370 plus £460, totalling £830. A standard timely renewal with no compliance issues is £370 plus £200, totalling £570. Confirm which route applies before paying.
Expect a staged decision
Cherwell's process includes an application and inspection, a draft or intention notice, a period for representations, a final decision notice and a tribunal appeal route. Keep the application, plans, representations and final licence together. The council's register includes current HMO licences, Temporary Exemption Notices, Interim Management Orders and Final Management Orders, but not applications in progress or expired cases.
Local designations need confirmation
Current selective and additional licensing schemes, areas, dates and fees were UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. Do not treat a missing designation page as proof that a smaller HMO or ordinary let is exempt.
Planning and enforcement are separate
A small or C4 HMO usually has three to six tenants and generally does not need planning permission unless other works or intensification trigger it. A large HMO with seven or more tenants requires planning permission. Cherwell's current local Article 4 position and exact enforcement remedies, civil penalties, rent repayment orders and Temporary Exemption Notice wording were UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website.
Verify current Cherwell HMO fees, process, register, local schemes, enforcement and planning controls via the council's official pages. Illustrative guide - fees and boundaries 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.