Cotswold: five-year HMO licences with two-part fees
Cotswold District Council requires a mandatory HMO licence for five or more people forming two or more households who share kitchen or bathroom facilities. Licences are valid for five years unless otherwise specified. Current additional and selective licensing schemes and the HMO effect of listed Article 4 directions were not confirmed in the official material reviewed.
The mandatory threshold includes some purpose-built blocks
Cotswold requires a licence where five or more people form two or more households and share kitchen or bathroom facilities. Purpose-built blocks containing up to two flats are also included where one or both flats meet that threshold. Applications are made through the council's online HMO application link.
Two-part fees
The new-licence fee is £245 for the application plus £1,115 for issue. From seven rooms, the issue fee adds £41.50 for each additional room. Renewal is £245 plus a £1,010 issue fee, with £21 per additional letting room from seven rooms, capped at £200. Confirm the live calculation before paying.
Record the five-year term and renewal date
The council says a licence is valid for five years unless otherwise specified and that renewal should be made at least 28 days before expiry. Keep the issued licence, conditions and renewal evidence together because an individual licence may specify a different term.
Local scheme status needs confirmation
Current additional and selective 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.
Enforcement figures have a date caveat
The HMO page lists an unlimited fine for operating an unlicensed HMO and up to £5,000 for a condition breach on conviction, expressly labelled as at October 2018. It also says civil penalty notices may be up to £30,000 per offence as an alternative to prosecution, but whether that figure is current was UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. The council says a tenant may seek up to twelve months' rent through the First-tier Property Tribunal for an unlicensed property.
Article 4 directions are not automatically HMO controls
Cotswold's current Article 3 and 4 page lists directions for named sites and settlements, including Avening, Bibury, Blockley, Bourton-on-the-Water, Chipping Campden, Moreton-in-Marsh and Tetbury. It does not confirm a C3-to-C4 HMO restriction. HMO-specific Article 4 scope, dates and effect were UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website.
Keep the universal tenancy file complete
Every Cotswold 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 Cotswold HMO fees, terms, register access, local schemes, enforcement and Article 4 effect via the council's official pages. Illustrative guide - local charges and planning controls 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.