Council licensing · West Midlands

Licensing in Telford and Wrekin

Telford and Wrekin has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.

Researched 14 October 2026 · Independently checked 14 October 2026

Check a specific address in Telford and Wrekin

We match the postcode to its ward and the schemes below.

Licensing, ward by ward

Tap a ward, or focus it with your keyboard, to see its name and recorded coverage.

National rules only32

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), Telford & Wrekin Council
Area
National scheme, applies across the whole borough.
Fee
£1,522 for 5 years
HMO licensing fees on the council's HMO page (last updated 15 September 2026): 5 occupants £1,522.42; 6 to 12 occupants £1,639.53; 13 to 20 occupants £1,756.65; 21 or more occupants £1,873.77. The May 2026 fee schedule splits these into a stage 1 application fee (£1,123.14 for up to 5 occupants) and a stage 2 fee of £399.27, payable within 14 days of the 'decision to issue'. The fee covers two pre-licence compliance visits; extra visits, pre-application advisory visits and missed appointments cost £150 each. Variation fees range from £100 to £150, and a change of licence holder needs a new application. The full fee is payable even if a shorter licence is granted.
Who needs one
Privately let properties with 5 or more occupants forming 2 or more households who share or lack facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom or WC.
Exemptions
The council lists local authority-owned properties; properties owned or managed by public bodies such as registered social landlords, health service bodies and police authorities; and properties regulated by other legislation such as care homes, nursing homes and children's homes.
Notes
Included because the council publishes its own HMO fee. Licences are usually valid for five years and are not transferable between licence holders. The property is inspected before a licence is issued. Tacit consent does not apply. The HMO page states a civil penalty of up to £40,000. The linked licence conditions schedule still refers to a financial penalty of up to £30,000 for breaching conditions. Separately, an amenity standards document dated May 2026 is published.
Apply on the council site Licence conditions
Sources
- telford.gov.uk: houses in multiple occupancy hmos
- democracy.telford.gov.uk: Appendix 6 for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (PDF)
Additional HMO licence
Revoked
The Borough Council of Telford and Wrekin Designation for an Area for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation 2026
Area
All wards within the Borough of Telford and Wrekin. The designation was revoked by the council with effect from 00:01 on 15 September 2026 and was never enforced, so no additional licence is needed anywhere in the borough.
Runs
Until 14 September 2026
Fee
Not yet confirmed
No fee applies because the designation was revoked. The proposed fee for 3 to 5 occupant HMOs was £1,522.42, with a 10% early-bird discount for applications between 20 May and 20 August 2026.
Who needs one
Would have applied to HMOs (s254) occupied by 3 or more people in 2 or more households, and s257 HMOs, that are not already subject to mandatory licensing. Revoked: not licensable.
Exemptions
The designation excluded the buildings listed in its Appendix C (for example buildings managed by the council, registered providers, police, fire and NHS bodies, qualifying co-operatives and specified student accommodation), HMOs under management orders or temporary exemption notices, and HMOs needing a mandatory licence.
Notes
Revoked by the council with effect from 00:01 on 15 September 2026. Cabinet considered the borough-wide scheme on 14 May 2026, and the council made the designation that day. As made, it was due to come into force on 25 August 2026 and end on 24 August 2031 (the Cabinet report had proposed 20 August 2026). An addendum dated 28 August 2026, after that date, said it would come into force on, and in any event would not be enforced before, 00:01 on 1 December 2026; the council published a public notice of this on 2 September 2026. The council has never enforced it and says applicants will be contacted about refunds. By an instrument made on 11 September 2026 under s60(4) Housing Act 2004, the council revoked the designation in relation to the whole designated area, and 'the Designation shall cease to have effect at 00:01 on 15 September 2026', so end_date is 14 September 2026, the last day it could have had effect. start_date is left null because the commencement date was uncertain. The stated reasons were clarity and certainty about the designation's status, operative date and effect, likely implementation timescales, avoiding unnecessary costs, and reviewing other local and national HMO measures. Trade press reports that the revocation followed a pre-action challenge by the NRLA over the consultation and publicity (secondary source, not relied on for dates). No court quashed it. The public notice of 2 September 2026 announcing the 1 December 2026 start is superseded.
Sources

Article 4 for house shares

Telford and Wrekin has an Article 4 direction on houses in multiple occupation. Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission.

Area: The whole borough. The direction was made on 16 December 2025 and confirmed on 26 February 2026, and it comes into force on 27 February 2027. It removes Class L permitted development rights for C3 to C4 (small HMO, up to six residents) changes of use. Until 27 February 2027 such conversions remain permitted development. From that date, any new HMO of any size needs planning permission.
Takes effect: 27 February 2027

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.

Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy, May 2026, which went to Cabinet on 14 May 2026 for approval as incorporating the Renters' Rights Act 2025 provisions. It is linked from the council's enforcement policy page (last updated 12 October 2026). Appendix 1 covers 'Civil Penalties under The Renters' Rights Act 2025 and other housing legislation', with a £40,000 statutory maximum for licensing offences. The matrix uses MHCLG statutory-guidance starting points: failure to obtain an HMO licence (s72(1)) starts at £17,000, or £13,600 to £20,400 after the landlord-type adjustment. Knowingly permitting over-occupation of an HMO starts at £20,000. The landlord-type adjustment is +20% (6 or more properties ever, 3 or more HMOs, corporate landlord or director, or significant experience) or -20% (2 or fewer properties, at most 1 HMO and limited experience). The council sets its own starting levels for licence condition breaches.

Telford and Wrekin's civil penalty policy

Consultations

No consultation was recorded when we researched Telford and Wrekin.

Not yet confirmed

These points were unresolved when we researched Telford and Wrekin on 14 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

Not yet confirmed
The additional licensing designation was revoked on 11 September 2026 (effective 15 September 2026). The council says it will keep private rented sector measures under review, so watch for a fresh consultation or designation.
Not yet confirmed
The HMO page's licence conditions schedule still cites a £30,000 penalty for breaching conditions, while the HMO page and the May 2026 enforcement policy use £40,000.
Not yet confirmed
The Cabinet decision record approving the May 2026 enforcement policy was not separately fetched; adoption is inferred from the report recommendation and the council now linking the May 2026 policy as its enforcement policy.
Not yet confirmed
The HMO additional licensing and Article 4 consultation page (16 December 2025 to 11 March 2026) now returns 404.
Not yet confirmed
Whether the designation had any legal effect between 25 August and 14 September 2026 is uncertain: the addendum moving the start to 1 December 2026 is dated 28 August 2026, after the original start date. The council treats the scheme as never having been enforced.
Not yet confirmed
Not independently re-checked (verification of 2026-10-14): the 2 September 2026 public notice of the addendum and the Cabinet decision record adopting the May 2026 enforcement policy (not re-fetched), and the absence of a selective scheme or new HMO licensing consultation (HMO page, council newsroom and NRLA updates only; no wider web search was possible).

Landlord register

Licensing is separate from the national landlord register. Telford and Wrekin 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