Landlord rules in Cornwall: no selective licensing - no room for complacency
Good news first: Cornwall currently operates no selective licensing scheme, so an ordinary single-family let doesn't need a council licence here. Larger HMOs (five or more occupants) still need the national mandatory licence, but for most Cornish landlords the licensing layer simply doesn't apply.
Now the catch: every national duty still does - and Cornwall's market has its own traps. The county's huge holiday-let sector means properties frequently switch between holiday and residential letting, and the rules switch with them: the moment a property is let as someone's home, the full residential framework applies - gas, EICR, EPC, deposit protection, Right to Rent, alarms and the Renters' Rights Act duties, including the Tenant Information Sheet. "It used to be a holiday let" carries no grace period.
Why "no licence" areas still get fined
Enforcement in areas without licensing still follows the national framework. Check the current council and government guidance for the duties and penalties that apply, and keep your property records easy to review. The future PRS Database is a separate official process; Kept can help organise records for preparation but does not submit directly.
Verify current schemes via Cornwall Council. Illustrative guide - schemes can be introduced at any time (Kept alerts you if one arrives); 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 current 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.