Cheshire East: mandatory HMO licensing and Crewe planning controls
Cheshire East's current HMO guidance requires a mandatory licence for five or more people from two or more households sharing facilities. The council's Crewe Article 4 Directions remove permitted-development rights for relevant C3-to-C4 changes from 1 November 2021. Current fees, terms and local licensing designations were not confirmed in the official material reviewed.
The mandatory HMO threshold
Cheshire East's current material uses the standard mandatory test: five or more people from two or more households sharing kitchen, bathroom or toilet facilities. The former three-storey condition no longer provides a safe shortcut. Check the actual occupants, households and facilities before deciding whether a licence is needed.
Local scheme status needs confirmation
The council's 2019 material records an action plan and consideration of selective licensing, but that is not evidence of a current designation. Current selective and additional HMO licensing status, boundaries, fees and exemptions were UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. Do not treat the old action plan as a live licence requirement.
Fees and application evidence
The council links to an HMO licensing application route and a register from its HMO material, but the current fee, licence term, supporting-document list, register fields and access method were UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. Ask Cheshire East to confirm the current route and amount for the property before paying.
Crewe Article 4 is planning control
Current Crewe HMO Article 4 Directions took effect on 1 November 2021 and remove permitted-development rights for relevant C3-to-C4 HMO changes within the designated area. Local Plan policy HOU 4, Houses in Multiple Occupation, is also relevant to planning decisions. Neither the direction nor HOU 4 is a substitute for an HMO licence.
Enforcement details remain unverified
Current civil penalties, prosecution policy, rent repayment order use, Temporary Exemption Notice procedure and transfer rules were UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. Every tenancy still needs annual gas safety, a five-yearly EICR, a valid EPC, deposit protection within 30 days, Right to Rent checks, working smoke and CO alarms and the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet.
Verify current Cheshire East HMO thresholds, fees, applications, registers, designations and Crewe planning controls via the council's official pages. Illustrative guide - local schemes and fees 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.