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Licensing in South Tyneside

South Tyneside has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.

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Check an address in South Tyneside

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 only18

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
Yes
Consultation
None open

Licensing schemes

  • Mandatory HMO licence

    In force

    Mandatory HMO licensing (South Tyneside fees)

    Area

    Whole borough of South Tyneside (national scheme).

    Fee

    Published standard fee: £1,079

    Council page: 'The current HMO licence fee is £1079. This is payable in two parts: £647.40 on application; £431.60 on issue of the licence.' Page undated.

    Who needs one
    Properties occupied by five or more people forming two or more households who share amenities such as a kitchen or bathroom.
    Apply on the council’s website
    How we checked this

    'HMO licences can be granted for up to 5 years.' The planning status of the HMO is considered as part of the licence application; without planning permission 'it is unlikely that the local authority will grant you an HMO licence'. The site blocks automated requests (Cloudflare) and was read in a browser.

    Sources

Article 4 for house shares

South Tyneside has an Article 4 direction on HMOs (houses in multiple occupation, or shared houses). Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission.

Area
Whole borough, through two C3 to C4 directions: the borough-wide immediate direction (made 26 November 2025, took effect 3 December 2025, confirmed 11 March 2026) covers 'all land within the administrative boundaries of the Borough of South Tyneside, except for the land presently subject to the Lawe Top and surrounding area HMO Article 4 Direction', and that earlier Lawe Top direction covers the Lawe Top area of South Shields. The council page: 'There are Article 4 restrictions in place covering the whole of the Borough'.
Takes effect
3 Dec 2025

Council source

Civil penalty policy

Not yet confirmed

We have not found South Tyneside's civil penalty policy yet.

Consultations

We found no consultations when we researched South Tyneside.

Not yet confirmed

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

  • Not yet confirmed

    None on discretionary licensing: the council states 'There are currently no additional or selective licensing schemes in South Tyneside' (https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/7314/Additional-and-selective-licensing).

  • Not yet confirmed

    No civil penalty policy document, or one updated for the Renters' Rights Act 2025, was found.

  • Not yet confirmed

    The commencement date of the earlier Lawe Top and surrounding area HMO Article 4 direction was not found; the borough-wide direction (effective 3 December 2025) covers the rest of the borough. An earlier November 2025 notice and the council's 19 November 2025 news item said the immediate direction was already in force; the March 2026 confirmation notice gives 3 December 2025, which is recorded.

Landlord register

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. South Tyneside 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