Council licensing in East of England

Licensing in Castle Point

Castle Point has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.

Checked 14 Oct 2026

Check an address in Castle Point

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 only13

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: None found
Consultation: None open

Licensing schemes

Mandatory HMO licence
In force
Mandatory HMO licensing (national scheme, Castle Point fees)
Area
The whole of Castle Point borough (national scheme).
Fee
£841.54 for 5 years
From the council's Fees and Charges 2026-2027 schedule: 'Mandatory Licence for a House in Multiple Occupation - up to 5 lettings (5-year Licence)' £841.54, split into two parts of £420.77 (one due on application, one on licence approval). Each additional letting £81.19. No VAT. The HMO Policy says fees are reviewed annually and published in the yearly fees and charges.
Who needs one
A property rented to five or more people who together form more than one household, where some or all tenants share facilities such as a toilet, bathroom or kitchen. The council says properties for fewer than five people do not need a licence.
Exemptions
The council's HMO Policy says exemptions are those in Schedule 14 of the Housing Act 2004; it does not list them.
Apply on the council's website
How we checked this
This is the national scheme. Castle Point publishes its own HMO page, an HMO Policy 2026 to 2029 (adopted 15 July 2026) and fees. The policy says applications can be made online through GOV.UK or by emailing eh@castlepoint.gov.uk for an e-mail or paper form, and lists the documents required (scaled floor plan, gas safety certificate, EICR, PAT certificate, fire alarm and emergency lighting certificates, fire risk assessment, details of everyone with a legal or financial interest, and the fee). A licence lasts up to five years, but the council may grant a shorter licence for management concerns, poor property condition or a history of non-compliance. The draft licence includes the mandatory conditions and the higher Essex HMO Amenity Standards (version 2, April 2019); no separate conditions document is published. Neither the HMO page nor the policy mentions selective or additional licensing; the policy describes only mandatory licensing and says 3 or 4 tenant HMOs do not need a licence.
Sources

Article 4 for house shares

We found no Article 4 direction on house shares in Castle Point.

Council source

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.

'Private Sector Housing Civil Penalties Policy 2026 to 2029', adopted 16 September 2026, linked from the council's Private Sector Housing page. It follows the national model policy endorsed by the Association of Chief Environmental Health Officers and covers civil penalties under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and other housing legislation. Failure to obtain an HMO licence (s.72(1)) has a starting point of £17,000 against a statutory maximum of £40,000, adjusted by 20% for landlord type (£13,600 for a landlord with no more than two properties, no more than one HMO and very limited experience; £20,400 for a landlord with six or more properties, three or more HMOs, a corporate landlord or director, or significant experience). Aggravating factors specific to this offence are knowledge or experience of licensing and the condition of the unlicensed property. Breaches of HMO licence conditions are penalised per condition breached. The policy's 'next review date' is printed as 16 September 2026, the same as its adoption date.

Castle Point's civil penalty policy

Consultations

We found no consultations when we researched Castle Point.

Not yet confirmed

We could not settle these points when we researched Castle Point on 14 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

Not yet confirmed
The council does not state that it has no selective or additional licensing; absence is inferred from its HMO page and HMO Policy (which describe only mandatory licensing) and from site searches for 'selective licensing'. The council's committee papers site (castlepoint.moderngov.co.uk) returned HTTP 522 on 14 October 2026, so committee papers were not searched.
Not yet confirmed
No HMO licence conditions document is published; the HMO Policy says draft licences include the mandatory conditions and the Essex HMO Amenity Standards.

Landlord register

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Castle Point is in East of England, where registration is planned from 15 January 2027 to 14 April 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Read about the register