Medway: licensing details are being republished, so check before you let
Medway's current Property Licensing page describes selective licensing for privately rented homes and additional HMO licensing for smaller HMOs. It names the wards covered by each scheme, but the council has also said that its public notices, maps and dates were removed because of an error and would be republished. That makes Medway a place to verify the live designation before relying on a ward list.
The ward lists are not the designation
Medway's current page lists Chatham Central and Brompton, Fort Pitt, Gillingham North, Gillingham South, Luton, Strood North and Frindsbury, and Watling for selective licensing. It lists the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and seventh of those for additional HMO licensing. But the council has warned that the public notices, maps and dates were withdrawn after an error. Treat the lists as a prompt to check, not as proof that a particular address is currently inside a legally operative area.
The mandatory threshold needs a careful read
Medway's pages do not use identical wording for the mandatory HMO threshold: one says five or more people and another says more than five. The national test normally turns on five or more people from two or more households sharing facilities, but use the council's current application guidance or contact the licensing team for a property-specific decision before relying on a borderline occupancy arrangement.
Budget for the application as well as the licence
Medway publishes a £1,598.99 fee for a new mandatory HMO application, £894.33 for a renewal with no significant changes, £1,016 for a renewal with significant changes and £202.99 for a variation. Incomplete applications close after sixty days and the fee is refunded. A change of licence holder requires a new application rather than a variation or renewal.
Use the register, but know its limits
The council's public-register service lets you search licensed HMOs by property address, issue date and expiry date. Redacted register information is linked through the council's licensing system. If you are buying or taking over a property, check both the register and the current designation notice - a register entry does not transfer a licence into your name.
Do not confuse planning Article 4 with HMO licensing
Medway publishes Article 4 directions affecting areas including Upnor, Brompton, Gillingham Park, Maidstone Road and New Road in Chatham, and Historic Rochester. The accessible council material does not establish that these directions are HMO-specific. Check planning separately; a planning direction and a property licence are different controls.
Check the live position via Medway Council's Property Licensing page, current public notices and licensing register. Illustrative guide - ward lists, dates 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 (ordinary lets): Council lists 7 wards - dates being republished. 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.