Council licensing · West Midlands

Licensing in Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force. A additional HMO scheme across the whole council area is proposed.

Researched 14 October 2026 · Independently checked 14 October 2026

Check a specific address in Stoke-on-Trent

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Licensing, ward by ward

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Scheme approved or proposed34

Current ONS ward boundaries. Exemptions apply. Use the postcode check and scheme details for your property.

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 (Housing Act 2004 Part 2), Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Area
National scheme, applies across the whole city.
Fee
£895 for 5 years
Two-part fee: Part 1 (processing) £428.00 is paid on application; Part 2 (enforcement and administration) is paid after initial checks, when the officer books the inspection. Totals by size: up to 6 bedrooms £895.00 (£428 + £467); 7 to 10 bedrooms £922.00; 11 to 20 bedrooms £977.75; 21 to 30 bedrooms £1,034.00; 31+ bedrooms £1,088.50. A £50 reduction applies to subsequent applications submitted within three months of the first. The fees page shows no updated date. The 11 August 2026 Cabinet report says current licence fees 'vary between £590 and £700' and proposes to increase them significantly from April 2027.
Who needs one
HMOs with 5 or more occupiers living in 2 or more households who share basic amenities such as a kitchen or bathroom. It also covers self-contained flats in a block of up to two flats where one or both flats are occupied by 5 or more people in 2 or more households, including blocks above or below commercial premises. Each qualifying flat needs its own licence. HMOs with 3 or 4 occupants do not need a licence but must meet amenity standards and fire safety rules.
Notes
Included because the council publishes its own mandatory HMO fee. The council aims to process applications within 4 weeks, issues a draft licence (intention notice) for 14 days' consultation before the decision notice, and re-inspects within three years. The 11 August 2026 Cabinet report records 464 licensed HMOs and an estimated 2,000 HMOs in total, says licences last 5 years, and approved strengthening the conditions on existing licences (subject to detailed design). Stoke's earlier selective licensing schemes in parts of Fenton and Cobridge (designated 2014) ended on 4 August 2019; the council's 2026 Cabinet report confirms all previous selective schemes have expired.
Apply on the council site
Sources
Additional HMO licence
ProposedMedium confidence
Proposed city-wide Additional Licensing Scheme for HMOs (Stoke-on-Trent)
Area
Proposed to cover HMOs across the whole city. Cabinet has approved it in principle, subject to statutory consultation and detailed design; no designation has been made and the statutory consultation has not opened.
Fee
Not yet confirmed
No fee set. The 11 August 2026 Cabinet report estimates the council would need to charge between £750 and £1,000 per licence to cover costs, and says fees will be set once the final scheme is agreed.
Who needs one
Proposed: smaller HMOs not covered by mandatory licensing, with the scope to include both section 254 HMOs and section 257 HMOs (converted blocks of flats not meeting 1991 Building Regulations where fewer than two-thirds of flats are owner-occupied).
Notes
Proposal only: no statutory consultation has opened yet, so there is nothing to respond to. On 11 August 2026 Cabinet agreed 'subject to consultation and detailed design, that the council introduce Additional Licensing for HMOs across the city', approved new resources and a new fee, and delegated the final scheme details and fees to the Corporate Director of Housing, Regeneration and Operations. The report says the measures will be phased over about 18 to 24 months and that consultation will happen before any licensing changes. As of 14 October 2026 no statutory consultation page or designation was found on the council's website. Nothing is licensable under this proposal yet.
Sources

Article 4 for house shares

Stoke-on-Trent has an Article 4 direction on houses in multiple occupation. Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission.

Area: Whole city. On 6 October 2026 Cabinet approved making a city-wide Article 4 direction with immediate effect, removing permitted development rights for C3 to C4 (small HMO) changes of use from 23 October 2026. It must be confirmed within six months after statutory consultation or it lapses. As of 14 October 2026 the direction had not yet been made: the Cabinet report says it 'should be made on 23 October 2026' and must be confirmed by April 2027 at the latest, and the council's HMO planning page still said there were no HMO Article 4 designations.
Takes effect: 23 October 2026

Council source

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.

Cabinet adopted a new Civil Penalties Policy for Private Sector Housing on 14 July 2026 ('Civil penalties under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and other housing legislation', written by Justice for Tenants for the council). It applies the £40,000 statutory maximum, and £7,000 for lower-tier breaches. Failure to obtain an HMO licence (s72(1)) has a starting point of £17,000, adjusted to £13,600 or £20,400 by the landlord-type adjustment; failure to obtain a selective licence (s95) is also covered. The landlord-type adjustment is +20% (for example 6 or more properties, 3 or more HMOs, corporate landlords) or -20% (very small, inexperienced landlords). Mitigating and aggravating factors are each normally capped at 20% of the starting point. A 33% discount applies for prompt payment. The council's HMO enforcement page says its HMO Enforcement Policy, PSH Enforcement Policy and Civil Penalties Protocol can be requested from hmoadvice@stoke.gov.uk; the adopted policy itself is published in the Cabinet papers.

Stoke-on-Trent's civil penalty policy

Consultations

Civil Financial Penalty Policy consultation (four weeks from 12 May 2026)Approved

Not yet confirmed

These points were unresolved when we researched Stoke-on-Trent on 14 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

Not yet confirmed
The mandatory HMO fee page (£895 to £1,088.50) conflicts with the 11 August 2026 Cabinet report, which says licence fees 'vary between £590 and £700'. Confirm the current fee with the council (hmoadvice@stoke.gov.uk).
Not yet confirmed
The additional licensing statutory consultation has not been found. Watch for its launch, the proposed fee and conditions, and the start date.
Not yet confirmed
The signed Article 4 direction and statutory notice had not been published when checked. Confirm it came into force on 23 October 2026 (the decision was subject to call-in until 15 October 2026) and whether it is later confirmed.
Not yet confirmed
Mandatory HMO licence conditions are not published online.
Not yet confirmed
The civil penalty consultation page gives a start date (12 May 2026) and a four-week length but no closing date.
Not yet confirmed
Not independently re-checked (verification of 2026-10-14): the 14 July 2026 Cabinet adoption of the civil penalty policy and the 12 May 2026 consultation start (not checked against the decision record); the dates of the 2014 to 4 August 2019 Fenton and Cobridge selective schemes; and the absence of any statutory additional licensing consultation or selective proposal (no wider web search was possible).

Landlord register

Licensing is separate from the national landlord register. Stoke-on-Trent is in West Midlands, where the planned registration window runs from 15 December 2026 to 14 March 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Register dates, fee and documents