Licensing in County Durham

• Selective licence

  In forceMedium confidence

  County Council of Durham Designations of Areas for Selective Licensing 2021 (in force from 2022)

  Area

  103 designated Lower Super Output Areas across four designations, not the whole county and not whole wards. Use the council postcode checker and Annex A map for the exact address. Designation One: Chester Central 2, Dawdon South 2, Shildon West, Consett South, Haswell, Cockton Hill East, Consett West, Horden South, Cockton Hill North, Havannah South, West Cornforth, Newfield, Leadgate North, Stanley Crook, Roddymoor, Leadgate Central, Tow Law Rural, Henknowle North, Kelloe, Dalton Park, Hunwick, Waterhouses, Murton East, Tow Law Central, Blackhall Rocks North, South Hetton East. Designation Two: Catchgate North, Ferryhill Dean Bank South, Murton Central, Sunnybrow, Passfield North. Designation Three: Moorside West, Eden Hill North, Woodham Village South West, Annfield Plain, Acre Rigg North, West North, Stanley Hall North, Acre Rigg South, West Central, Stanley Hall West, Eden Hill South, West South, Craghead North, Eden Hill Central, Middridge South, Pelton North, Dene House Central, Thickley, Pelton Fell, Dene House East, Shildon East, Chester West 2, Blackhall Colliery North, Woodhouse Close South, Murton Moor & South Hetton, Blackhall Rocks South, Low Spennymoor, Dalton le Dale, Passfield East, Middlestone Moor, Dawdon South 1, Shotton East, Willington Central, Seaham Harbour South, Shotton Colliery Central, Crook East, Easington Colliery South, Wingate West, Esh Winning, Horden North, Wheatley Hill South, Ushaw Moor East, Horden West, Trimdon South, Bearpark, Howletch East. Designation Four: New Kyo, Blackhall Colliery South, Ferryhill South & Station, South Moor North, Wheatley Hill North, Ferryhill Dean Bank North, South Moor Central, Station Town, Spennymoor Central, South Moor South, Deaf Hill, Coundon South, Grange Villa, Sunnydale, Coundon Grange, Easington Colliery North, New Shildon, Eldon, Easington Colliery Central, Henknowle South, Toronto, Horden Central, West Auckland East, Crook Central 2, Horden East, Dawdon North 2.

  Runs

  1 April 2022 to 30 March 2027

  Fee

  Published standard fee: £585

  Current council page: £585 per property (£200 Part A on application + £385 Part B when the draft licence is issued). Qualifying existing licence holders on 1 April 2025 adding a newly licensable property with all supporting documentation within 12 weeks pay £435 (£165 + £270), a £150 discount; council explains £35 refund after submission and remaining discount at Part B. Not an open-ended portfolio discount.

  Who needs one

  Privately rented houses and flats let or occupied under a tenancy or licence within the 103 designated areas, including smaller HMOs not subject to mandatory HMO licensing.

  Exemptions

  Mandatory-licensable HMOs; registered-social-landlord tenancies; interim/final management orders; temporary exemptions; other exempt tenancies under the Housing Act 2004 and Selective Licensing of Houses (Specified Exemptions) (England) Order 2006, including qualifying holiday, family, resident-landlord and long-lease cases. Confirm the exact statutory exemption for the property.

  Apply on the council’s websiteLicence conditionsCouncil's map or designation
  ›How we checked this

  Secretary of State confirmed 30 November 2021. Exact notice wording: “shall come into force on 1 st April 2022 and shall cease to have effect five years after such date, namely 31 st March 2027”. Under this dataset’s cease-date convention the last day is recorded as 30 March 2027. This is in tension with “five years” and the current council guidance saying expire/last until 31 March 2027; obtain council confirmation before relying on the final day. Four legal designations are aggregated here because dates, fee and property test coincide; all 103 LSOA labels remain in description. LSOA labels are not matched as electoral wards or street names. Licences are property/licence holder specific and non-transferable; current guidance says they end with the scheme. No expired optional scheme within the preceding 12 months was identified.

  Sources

  • durham.gov.uk: selectivelicensing
  • durham.gov.uk: NoticeDesignationOfAnAreaForSelectiveLicensing (PDF)
  • durham.gov.uk: SelectiveLicensingConditions (PDF)
  • durham.gov.uk: CivilPenaltyPolicy (PDF)
  • durham.gov.uk: HousingEnforcementPolicy (PDF)
  • democracy.durham.gov.uk: Selective Licensing Scheme (PDF)

• Mandatory HMO licence

  In force

  Mandatory HMO licensing

  Area

  Durham County Council administrative area, not only Durham City.

  Fee

  Published standard fee: £1,050

  Current council HMO page: from 1 April 2026 new HMO licence or change of ownership £1,050 (£628 first-stage processing/inspection + £422 on approval for monitoring/enforcement). Renewal £999 (£577 + £422).

  Who needs one

  A whole house or flat occupied by five or more persons forming two or more households, sharing or lacking basic amenities. Council supplementary guidance includes purpose-built HMO flats in a block containing no more than two flats.

  Apply on the council’s websiteLicence conditions
  ›How we checked this

  Fit-and-proper-person and suitable management/property standards apply; council arranges an inspection and says no tacit consent. No additional HMO scheme was identified; the May 2026 Cabinet report expressly says smaller 3–4 occupant HMOs require selective licences only in designated selective areas, otherwise the national HMO licensing criteria govern. Individual licence term not established in the retrieved current application guidance; left null.

  Sources

  • durham.gov.uk: Multiple occupancy homes
  • durham.gov.uk: ExtensionOfMandatoryHMOLicence (PDF)
  • durham.gov.uk: HousingEnforcementPolicy (PDF)

• Selective licence

  ProposedMedium confidence

  Proposed new selective licensing scheme from April 2027 — consultation closed, final decision unconfirmed

  Area

  Proposed 87 LSOAs across four designations, covering approximately 27% of County Durham by area. This changes the current 103-area footprint; do not substitute one for the other. The final boundaries remain subject to decision. Designation 1 (low demand): Blackhall Colliery North, Catchgate South, Cockton Hill North, Cockton Hill East, Consett South, Consett West, Dalton Park, Dawdon South 2, Ferryhill North, Ferryhill South, Greencroft, Haswell, Havannah South, Henknowle North, Leadgate Central, Murton East, Newfield, Shildon West, Stanley Crook, Trimdon Grange, West Cornforth, Willington West. Designation 2 (antisocial behaviour): Catchgate North, Chester Central 1, Chester Central 2, Coundon North, Ferryhill Dean Bank South, Low Spennymoor, Murton Central, Passfield North, Spennymoor Mount Pleasant, Sunnybrow, Spennymoor Whitworth Park. Designation 3 (deprivation): Acre Rigg North, Acre Rigg South, Annfield Plain, Dawdon South 1, Dene House Central, Easington Colliery South, Eden Hill Central, Eden Hill North, Eden Hill South, Henknowle South, Horden North, Horden South, Horden West, Howletch East, Middridge South, Murton Moor & South Hetton, Passfield East, Seaham Harbour South, Shildon East, Shotton East, Stanley Hall North, Stanley Hall West, West Central, West North, West South, Wheatley Hill South, Willington Central, Wingate West, Woodham Village SW, Woodhouse Close South. Designation 4 (all three conditions): Blackhall Colliery South, Coundon Grange, Coundon South, Crook Central 2, Dawdon North 2, Deaf Hill, Easington Colliery Central, Easington Colliery North, Eldon, Ferryhill Dean Bank North, Ferryhill Station & Chilton Lane, Grange Villa, Horden Central, Horden East, New Kyo, New Shildon, South Moor Central, South Moor North, South Moor South, Spennymoor Central, Station Town, Sunnydale, Toronto, Wheatley Hill North.

  Fee

  Published standard fee: £700. Early application: £550

  PROPOSED ONLY, not the current scheme fee. May 2026 Appendix C: £550 early-bird if applied within the first six months (£300 Part A + £250 Part B); standard £700 afterwards (£300 + £400). Proposed licence up to five years; shorter terms possible at the same fee. Final fee/adoption not confirmed. Appendix C still includes historical £30,000 enforcement wording; current RRA policy governs current enforcement.

  Who needs one

  Proposed licensing of private rented homes within the proposed mapped LSOAs, including smaller HMOs not covered by mandatory licensing; final designation and conditions remain subject to approval.

  Scheme details on the council’s websiteLicence conditionsCouncil's map or designation
  ›How we checked this

  Cabinet 6 May 2026 approved consultation, not the final designation. Official Chilton Town Council account confirms consultation closed 12 August 2026 and describes an intended April 2027 scheme. The May report envisaged final October Cabinet consideration; the fetched 14 October 2026 Cabinet agenda does not list that item. No final adoption was found, so operative start/end dates remain null. The Let’s Talk project loads a Java Script shell in direct fetch; proposed mapped areas/fees are taken from the fetched primary Cabinet report and fee appendix. Full final conditions and signed designation remain unconfirmed. Independently recovered Appendix B proposed licence conditions and Appendix 3 evidence report from the 6 May Cabinet agenda. These are consultation proposals, not final adopted conditions; legacy wording in those documents must not displace current statutory duties.

  Sources

  • democracy.durham.gov.uk: Selective Licensing Scheme (PDF)
  • democracy.durham.gov.uk: Appendix C Proposed Licensing Fees (PDF)
  • democracy.durham.gov.uk: Decisions Wednesday 06 May 2026 09.30 Cabinet (PDF)
  • letstalkcountydurham.co.uk: proposed new selective licensing scheme
  • chiltondurham-tc.gov.uk: chilton town council responds to consultation on selective licensing
  • democracy.durham.gov.uk: ieListDocuments
  • democracy.durham.gov.uk: Appendix B Proposed Licence Conditions (PDF)
  • democracy.durham.gov.uk: Appendix 3 Evidence Report and Proposal for County Durham (PDF)

Council source

County Durham's civil penalty policy

• Proposed new selective licensing scheme from April 2027 — closed; final designation not locatedClosed, awaiting decision

  Closed 12 Aug 2026

We could not settle these points when we researched County Durham on 15 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

• Not yet confirmed

  Resolve the current selective designation end-date conflict: notice says cease to have effect “five years after such date, namely 31 st March 2027”; guidance says expire/last until 31 March 2027. Dataset applies its strict cease-date convention and records 30 March 2027. Confirm the final operative day with the council.

• Not yet confirmed

  Locate the final post-consultation Cabinet decision and signed 2027 designation, including any changed LSOAs, fees and conditions. The 14 October 2026 Cabinet agenda contains no selective renewal item; no final adoption was found as of 15 October. April 2027 is an intended start, not an operative date.

• Not yet confirmed

  Confirm individual mandatory HMO licence duration from the issued licence/current council terms; current fee/application guidance retrieved does not establish it.

• Not yet confirmed

  Confirm any post-consultation revision to the recovered May 2026 proposed conditions (Appendix B) and any new additional-HMO licensing proposal. The May report describes selective licensing of smaller HMOs and mandatory-only licensing criteria outside selective areas; no additional designation was identified.

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. County Durham is in North East, where registration is planned from 15 June 2027 to 14 September 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Read about the register