Licensing in Boston
Boston has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.
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Check an address in Boston
We'll match the postcode to its ward and the schemes below.
Licensing, ward by ward
Select a ward to see its name and licensing.
- National rules only15
Current ward boundaries from ONS. Some homes are exempt, so check your postcode and the scheme details below.
- Selective licensing
- None
- Additional HMO licensing
- No
- Article 4 on house shares
- Not yet confirmed
- Consultation
- None open
Licensing schemes
Mandatory HMO licence
In forceMandatory HMO licensing (national scheme, Boston fees)
- Area
Whole of Boston (national scheme).
- Fee
Not yet confirmed
South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership (SELCP) Housing Standards Enforcement Policy, Appendix A Fees and Charges 2026-2027 (adopted across Boston, East Lindsey and South Holland): new licence '£300.00 for initial application and processing' plus '£150.00 for each unit of accommodation'; renewal the same. For example, a five-unit HMO would be £1,050. The council collects a Part A fee before processing and a Part B fee after a successful inspection. standard_gbp is null because the fee depends on the number of units.
- Who needs one
- HMOs occupied by five or more people living in two or more separate households that meet the standard, self-contained flat or converted building test (section 254).
How we checked this
'Each licence will be issued for a maximum of 5 years.' Applications are made through the council's HMO Licensing Portal. The site blocks automated requests; pages were read in a browser.
Article 4 for house shares
Whether Boston has an Article 4 direction on house shares.
Civil penalty policy
The council's policy sets how it decides the size of a fine. The version we found has been updated for the Renters' Rights Act.
SELCP Housing Standards Enforcement Policy, Appendix B (financial civil penalties), shared by Boston, East Lindsey and South Holland. Boston's Formal Enforcement page sets starting levels by seriousness: Mild £2,500, Moderate £7,500, Serious £12,500, Very Serious £17,500, Severe £22,500, Very Severe £27,500, adjusted for aggravating and mitigating factors, and says 'The amount of this penalty must not exceed £40,000' (the Renters' Rights Act maximum). Covers HMO licensing (s.72) and selective licensing offences. Boston Cabinet considered the SELCP Housing Standards Policies on 27 January 2026 (after Overview & Scrutiny on 9 December 2025).
Consultations
We found no consultations when we researched Boston.
Not yet confirmed
We could not settle these points when we researched Boston. Check them with the council before you rely on them.
- Not yet confirmed
No selective or additional licensing scheme is in force. Checked: the council HMO and housing standards pages, the site search for 'selective licensing', and democracy.boston.gov.uk search. The SELCP Private Sector Housing Strategy (Boston Cabinet, 19 February 2025) said 'additional local measures, such as selective licensing schemes' were being considered, and a June 2025 Overview & Scrutiny HMO update discussed additional and selective licensing; no proposal or consultation was found. Re-check.
- Not yet confirmed
Confirm the exact fee for a given HMO with the Housing Standards team (per-unit charge).
- Not yet confirmed
Article 4: whether Boston has an HMO (C3 to C4) Article 4 direction is not confirmed. Checked: a council site search for 'article 4' and planning.data.gov.uk (no Article 4 records for the council). None was found, but absence is inferred, not stated by the council; confirm with its planning team.
Landlord register
The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Boston is in East Midlands, where registration is planned from 15 February 2027 to 14 May 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Read about the register