County Durham: selective licensing to March 2027, and a county-wide Article 4
County Durham runs selective licensing across 103 postcode-defined areas until 31 March 2027, with a consultation on what follows already announced. Mandatory HMO fees changed on 1 April 2026 and are charged in two stages. A further Article 4 direction covering non-student HMOs across the whole county came into force in August 2026.
Selective licensing: 103 areas with a hard end date
Selective licensing came into effect on 1 April 2022 and expires on 31 March 2027. The designations were approved by Cabinet on 16 September 2020 and by the Secretary of State on 30 November 2021. There are currently 103 designated areas, defined by postcode rather than ward name, and the council publishes both a selective licensing postcode list and a postcode checker so you can test an address. The licence lasts until 31 March 2027 and is not transferable, either to a new manager or between properties. An application must be accompanied by gas certificates, proof of an electrical check, tenancy agreements and EPCs.
Selective licence fees are £585 per property, payable in two parts: Part A £200 and Part B £385 on application and draft licence respectively. If you already held a selective licence in County Durham on 1 April 2025 and license an additional property within 12 weeks of it becoming licensable, the fee drops to £435, split £165 and £270, with a £35 refund processed first and the rest applied at draft licence stage. Enforcement is explicit: letting without a licence, or breaching conditions, can bring prosecution and an unlimited fine, or a civil penalty of up to £40,000 under the council's Civil Penalty Policy, and a rent repayment order of up to 12 months' rent. A landlord who should have been licensed may also be unable to progress possession proceedings.
HMO fees changed on 1 April 2026
Mandatory HMO licensing applies at five or more occupants forming two or more households. From 1 April 2026 a new HMO licence or transfer of ownership is £1,050, split into a first stage of £628 for processing and inspection and a second stage of £422 on approval for monitoring and enforcement. Renewal is £999 from the same date, split £577 and £422. The two-stage structure follows a Court of Appeal decision and is not optional for the council. Applications go through the council's property licensing portal, where the public register of licensed properties is also published, while licences granted on the previous case management system sit in a legacy PDF register. The council aims to grant HMO licences within 14 weeks of a valid and complete application, and tacit consent does not apply. The term of an HMO licence is UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website, as the HMO pages state the fee and the process but not the duration.
Planning now reaches most of the county
Article 4 directions requiring planning permission to convert a family home into an HMO cover Durham City from 17 September 2016, Framwellgate Moor, Newton Hall and Pity Me from 13 May 2017, and Mount Oswald, Carrville and Belmont from 14 January 2022. A further direction for non-student HMOs across the rest of the county outside those areas came into force on 17 August 2026. Under the terms of the directions, a Class C4 HMO can revert to a Class C3 dwelling without planning permission. None of this is licensing: a property can be licensable and still need planning permission, or need permission without being licensable.
Verify current designations via Durham County Council's Selective licensing of privately rented properties page, its Multiple occupancy homes page, its HMO Licensing Register and its property licensing portal. Illustrative guide - scheme boundaries and dates 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 (ordinary lets): Yes - 103 areas, to 31 Mar 2027. 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.