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Licensing in Sevenoaks

Sevenoaks has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.

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Check an address in Sevenoaks

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 only26

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 force

    Mandatory HMO licensing (national scheme, Sevenoaks fees)

    Area

    The whole of Sevenoaks District (national scheme).

    Fee

    Published standard fee: £1,031.17

    The council's HMO page says 'A new application for up to and including five units is £1,031.17' plus £24.40 for each additional unit above five; renewal £1,031.17; increasing the number of occupiers £102.50 per habitable room. The fee is paid in two stages: 'Part A (application and processing) – Stage 1 Fee (£681.75)', with the balance (enforcement and compliance) requested with the draft licence. The page itself shows no date or fee year.

    Who needs one
    HMOs occupied by five or more people forming two or more households who share basic amenities (national test). The council's HMO page only says 'An HMO licence may also be required if a property meets very specific criteria' and does not list them.
    How we checked this

    National scheme. There is no online application (apply_url is null): the page asks applicants to read the council's Guidance to HMO amenity standards and then contact the Private Sector Housing team (01732 227000, psh@sevenoaks.gov.uk) to apply, renew or change a licence. The page links an HMO public register. Licence length is not stated on the page (the national maximum is five years).

    Sources

Article 4 for house shares

Not yet confirmed

Whether Sevenoaks has an Article 4 direction on house shares.

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 current published policy is the Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy (March 2021), which uses the £30,000 maximum. Its Tables of Financial Penalties set starting points by culpability (very high, high, etc.), track record, portfolio size and risk-of-harm level 1-4; for very high culpability they run from £2,500 (no track record, one property, level 1) to £30,000 (significant track record, 20+ properties, level 4). Operating an unlicensed HMO or selective-licensed property 'will usually fall into' level 1 where there is no particular risk of harm. A revised Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy 2026-2031 (consulted on 4 May to 24 July 2026) includes Renters' Rights Act civil penalties at £7,000 and £40,000 with a starting-point matrix and 20% landlord-type adjustments. Cabinet on 20 October 2026 (item 50) resolved 'it be recommended to Council that the Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy 2026-2031 be adopted'; the report timetable lists 'Council – 1 December 2026' and says it will 'take effect from 4 December 2026'. Until then the 2021 policy is the one published.

Sevenoaks's civil penalty policy

Consultations

We found no consultations when we researched Sevenoaks.

Not yet confirmed

We could not settle these points when we researched Sevenoaks. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

  • Not yet confirmed

    No selective or additional licensing scheme, proposal or consultation was found on the council's private sector housing pages. Committee-document searches (cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk) for "additional licensing" return nothing, and "selective licensing" returns only the 2026-2031 enforcement policy items. The council does not publish an explicit statement of absence.

  • Not yet confirmed

    Confirm that Council adopts the Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy 2026-2031 on 1 December 2026 and that it takes effect on 4 December 2026, and which policy applies to offences between 1 May and 4 December 2026.

  • Not yet confirmed

    The HMO page shows no fee year or licence length; confirm the £1,031.17 fee is the 2026/27 charge and the standard licence term.

  • Not yet confirmed

    Absence of an HMO Article 4 direction is inferred; the council's Article 4 GIS records carry no descriptions.

  • Not yet confirmed

    Identify whether any of the council's 88 undescribed Article 4 GIS records removes the C3 to C4 permitted development right.

Landlord register

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Sevenoaks is in South East, where registration is planned from 15 March 2027 to 14 June 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Read about the register