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Council licensing in East of England

Licensing in Chelmsford

Chelmsford has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.

Checked 14 Oct 2026

Check an address in Chelmsford

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 only24

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, Chelmsford fees)

    Area

    The whole of the Chelmsford City Council area (national scheme).

    Fee

    £900 for 5 years

    £900 for an HMO with up to five units of accommodation. Above five units: £900 for the first five plus £55 for each additional unit (the council's example: an eight-unit HMO costs £1,065). The council's licensing fees page says all fees are valid until 31 March 2027 (page last updated 16 June 2026). The application is not treated as made until the council has all the information it needs and the fee has been paid.

    Who needs one
    A property where five or more people live in two or more households and share or lack a bathroom, toilet and/or cooking facilities.
    Apply on the council's website
    How we checked this

    This is the national scheme. Chelmsford publishes its own page and fees. The HMO licensing page (last updated 28 May 2026) says 'We do not have Additional or Selective licensing schemes in place.' A licence lasts five years. Renewal uses the same online form and needs the same documents as a new application. The council aims to process applications within 12 weeks of acceptance and inspects the property after accepting the application. Properties are assessed against the Essex HMO amenity standards (revised April 2019) and fire safety is judged against the LACORS guidance. No separate licence conditions document is published. Temporary Exemption Notices last three months. The page warns of penalties of up to £30,000, rent repayment orders and banning orders for unlicensed HMOs.

    Sources

Article 4 for house shares

We found no Article 4 direction on house shares in Chelmsford.

Council source

Civil penalty policy

The council's policy sets how it decides the size of a fine. The version we found has not been updated for the Renters' Rights Act.

The published statement of principles is policy HP09, 'Civil Penalties under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020', produced June 2025 and approved by the Cabinet Member for a Safer Chelmsford, next review due June 2027. It predates the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and states a £30,000 maximum per offence. Failure to license an HMO (s.72(1)) is treated as 'Very Serious' with a starting level of £17,500. It drops by £5,000 to £12,500 for a landlord with only one HMO and no more than one other dwelling, and rises by £5,000 to £22,500 for a landlord with six or more dwellings and/or three or more HMOs, or with demonstrated letting experience. Aggravating or mitigating factors rarely move the penalty by more than £5,000 either way. A 15% discount applies if the penalty is paid within the period in the final notice (normally 28 days). The council's 'Enforcement action for poor quality properties' page (updated 26 May 2026) links this policy but also lists Renters' Rights Act 2025 breaches and shows HMO and selective licensing offences (s.72 and s.95) at 'up to £40,000'.

Chelmsford's civil penalty policy

Consultations

We found no consultations when we researched Chelmsford.

Not yet confirmed

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

  • Not yet confirmed

    The civil penalty statement of principles (HP09, June 2025) still uses the £30,000 maximum, while the council's enforcement page lists Renters' Rights Act offences and £40,000 maxima. Confirm whether a revised policy reflecting the Renters' Rights Act 2025 has been adopted.

  • Not yet confirmed

    Chelmsford's committee papers were not searched for licensing proposals. The absence of selective and additional licensing rests on the council's HMO page statement (28 May 2026); no consultation was found on the council website or by web search.

Landlord register

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Chelmsford 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