Stoke-on-Trent: mandatory HMO licensing only, and no HMO Article 4
Stoke-on-Trent is one of the least licensed cities in England. Its two selective licensing schemes, covering named streets in Fenton and Cobridge, ended on 4 August 2019 and have not been replaced. There is no additional HMO licensing scheme - the council confirms a three- or four-occupant HMO is still an HMO but does not require a licence. What's left is the national mandatory HMO licence.
The unusual planning position
Stoke-on-Trent states that there are currently no Article 4 designations in the city relating specifically to HMO development. That is unusual among cities with significant shared-housing stock, and it means converting a family house to a small HMO of three to six occupants generally falls within permitted development. Planning permission may still be needed if the HMO has more than seven occupants, if there are cooking facilities in individual rooms, if there are restrictive planning conditions on the property, or if you're making physical alterations.
Mandatory HMO fees are banded by bed count
Fees are charged in two stages - part one with the application, part two before the inspection. Up to six bedrooms is £428 plus £467, totalling £895; seven to ten beds is £922; eleven to twenty is £977.75; twenty-one to thirty is £1,034; and thirty-one or more is £1,088.50. There's a £50 reduction on subsequent applications submitted within three months of the first, which is worth planning for if you're licensing several properties.
No licence still blocks a section 21
Failing to licence a licensable HMO is an offence under section 72 of the Housing Act 2004, and the council can issue a simple caution, prosecute, or serve a penalty notice. Separately - and this is the one that costs landlords most - you cannot regain possession using a section 21 notice while an HMO remains unlicensed. An unlicensed HMO is a property you cannot get back.
The national duties don't depend on licensing
Annual gas safety, a five-yearly EICR with a tenant copy inside 28 days, a valid EPC, deposit protection within 30 days, Right to Rent checks, working smoke and CO alarms and the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet apply to every Stoke-on-Trent tenancy. In a city with no licensing regime to prompt you, nothing external reminds you these have expired.
Verify current fees and the licensing position via Stoke-on-Trent City Council's houses in multiple occupation pages. Illustrative guide - 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 (ordinary lets): No scheme (ended Aug 2019). 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.