Council licensing in East of England
Licensing in Colchester
Colchester has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.
Checked 14 Oct 2026
Check an address in Colchester
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 only17
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 forceMandatory HMO licensing (national scheme, Colchester fees)
- Area
The whole of the Colchester City Council area (national scheme).
- Fee
£1,050
From the council's 'Private sector housing fees and charges 2026' page. New application for a 5 bedroom/letting property: £1,050, paid in two parts (£525 on submission, £525 once the decision to issue a licence is made), plus £75 per additional letting room or bedroom above 5. Renewal for a 5 bedroom/letting property: £1,000 (£500 on submission, £500 on decision), plus £75 per additional room. Not subject to VAT. The council also sells floor plan preparation (£445 including VAT for 5 units, plus £65 per extra unit).
- Who needs one
- Houses and flats occupied by 5 or more people who form 2 or more households and generally share 1 or more basic amenity (such as the kitchen, bathroom or toilet).
- Exemptions
- The council says there are some exceptions and provides an online licence checker; it does not list them.
How we checked this
This is the national scheme. Colchester publishes its own page and fees. The council's HMO licensing page says: 'In Colchester we operate a mandatory licensing scheme only' and 'We do not operate additional or selective HMO licensing and there are no Article 4 directions relating to HMOs within the City.' New applications are accepted only through the online form (an Assure account is needed). Renewals and variations are requested by email to HMO.Licensing@colchester.gov.uk, and renewal applications must be received before the current licence expires. A redacted public register is online. The old www.colchester.gov.uk HMO URLs now redirect to www.new.colchester.gov.uk.
Article 4 for house shares
We found no Article 4 direction on house shares in Colchester.
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.
'Civil Financial Penalty Policy (Renters Rights Act 2025 and Other Housing Legislation) (April 2026)', linked from the council's 'Enforcement and civil penalties policy' page (new.colchester.gov.uk) alongside a Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy (April 2026). Failure to obtain an HMO licence (s.72(1)) has a starting point of £17,000 against a statutory maximum of £40,000, with a 20% landlord-type adjustment (£13,600 down or £20,400 up). The policy also covers failure to obtain a selective licence (s.95). A 15% discount applies if a final notice penalty is paid in full within the period in the notice (normally 28 days). The council's fees page describes civil penalties as ranging from up to £5,000 to a maximum of £40,000 per offence.
Consultations
We found no consultations when we researched Colchester.
Not yet confirmed
We could not settle these points when we researched Colchester on 14 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.
- Not yet confirmed
The HMO licensing and fees pages do not state the licence length.
Landlord register
The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Colchester 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