Licensing in Sunderland

Sunderland has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.

Checked 15 Oct 2026

Ask an assistant about this page:

Check an address in Sunderland

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 only25

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
Area
Whole Sunderland City Council administrative area, including Sunderland, Washington and Houghton-le-Spring. The five historic Article 4 wards restrict planning rights, not the geographical extent of mandatory licensing.
Fee
Published standard fee: £1,004
Current online application guidance quotes £1,004 for five occupants: £710 on application and £294 when determined. A valid renewal received before expiry is £838, comprising £544 and £294; late applications are charged as new. The guidance's occupant-band supplements are £44.50 for 6–9, £87 for 10–12, £130.50 for 13–18, £174 for 19–24, £217.50 for 25–30 and £261 for 31–36; 37 or more requires a quotation. A further request for missing information adds £120 to the second fee. The seven-occupant worked example incorrectly prints £1,045.50 for £1,004 plus £44.50; those stated components total £1,048.50. The separately published 2025/26 schedule describes an additional bedroom charge, whereas the application guide uses occupant bands. Confirm the supplement and current fee year before paying; no 2026/27 replacement schedule was established. No early application discount is stated.
Who needs one
HMOs occupied by five or more people forming two or more households, sharing or lacking a basic amenity. The council includes qualifying shared buildings, converted flats and purpose-built flats where the block contains no more than two flats, subject to the statutory prescribed description.
Exemptions
Statutory HMO licensing exclusions apply, including the prescribed-description exclusion for an individual purpose-built flat in a block of three or more self-contained flats. The council expressly says three- and four-person HMOs do not require a licence in Sunderland.
Apply on the council’s website Licence conditions
How we checked this
The council expressly states that it does not currently operate any additional or selective licensing scheme. Licences usually last five years, but shorter terms may be issued. A licence cannot transfer on sale, and renewal must be made before expiry. The May 2026 enforcement policy provides for an 18-month licence where appropriate planning consent is missing, to allow the owner to regularise the position; a housing licence does not grant planning permission. The housing page describes standard mandatory conditions plus possible discretionary conditions, but the actual issued licence governs. Old £30,000 and 12-month rent repayment wording on the HMO page is not used as current law. The older general guide quotes fees as at November 2020 and is not used for the current base fee.
Sources

Article 4 for house shares

Sunderland 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: All C3 dwellinghouses within the historic wards of Barnes, Hendon, Millfield, St Michael's and St Peter's, as specified in the signed direction and accompanying red-edged plan. The current HMO page calls these former wards: use the designation map rather than assuming today's wards have identical boundaries. This is a defined central-city area, not the whole Sunderland council district. Current map: https://www.sunderland.gov.uk/article/40064/HMO-Article4-Direction-map?ccp=true.
Takes effect: 16 Dec 2013

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.

The published final policy says it is adopted by Sunderland City Council and effective from 1 May 2026. It covers RRA breaches and other housing offences, with £7,000 and £40,000 statutory maxima, offence-specific starting points and adjustments for landlord type, aggravation, mitigation, financial circumstances and totality. Failure to obtain an HMO licence starts at £17,000 before adjustments, with landlord-type examples of £13,600 and £20,400. A 15% prompt payment discount normally requires full payment within 28 days beginning the day after the final notice; an appeal does not suspend that discount period. These are calculation rules, not a guaranteed penalty. The current enforcement landing page confirms the new policy; the exact adopting committee and decision date were not recovered.

Sunderland's civil penalty policy

Consultations

We found no consultations when we researched Sunderland.

Not yet confirmed

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

Not yet confirmed
Confirm the current fee year and resolve the fee supplement discrepancy. The live application guide uses occupant bands, while the separately published 2025/26 schedule describes an additional bedroom charge. Its seven-occupant worked example also has an arithmetic error; obtain the council's actual quotation.
Not yet confirmed
Match the property against the historic Article 4 designation plan rather than current ward names. The signed instrument and adopted 2020 planning document establish the five-ward scope and 16 December 2013 commencement, but a current ward-boundary equivalence was not established.
Not yet confirmed
Recover the exact committee or delegated decision adopting the May 2026 civil penalty policy. The policy and current operational page establish adoption and effective date without identifying the formal decision day.
Not yet confirmed
The current council HMO page explicitly says no additional or selective schemes operate. Targeted current council and committee searches did not establish a future designation, recent expiry or live housing licensing consultation; continue monitoring later decisions.
Not yet confirmed
Confirm any shorter licence term, property-specific discretionary conditions and planning consent separately. A five-year headline term or HMO licence does not establish planning permission.

Landlord register

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Sunderland 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