# Licensing in West Lancashire

> West Lancashire has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.

- Checked 26 Oct 2026 (researched_at 2026-10-26, verified_at 2026-10-26)
- Region: North West
- ONS code: E07000127
- Web page: https://lettance.com/councils/west-lancashire
- API: https://lettance.com/api/v1/councils/west-lancashire

## Licensing schemes

### Mandatory HMO licence: Mandatory HMO licensing (West Lancashire)

- Status: In force (`in_force`)
- Area: Whole borough of West Lancashire (national scheme).
- Fee: Not yet confirmed. No fee is published on the council's HMO page; applications go through the GOV.UK portal.
- Who needs one: HMOs occupied by five or more people forming two or more households.
- Apply: https://www.gov.uk/find-licences/house-in-multiple-occupation-licence/west-lancashire
- Confidence: Medium
- How we checked this: The council says it 'has decided to allow a 4 week grace period for an application to be made before enforcement action is taken' where an unlicensed HMO is found. The page still cites a £30,000 civil penalty maximum.
- Sources: http://www.westlancs.gov.uk/housing/private-housing/help-advice-for-private-sector-tenants/house-in-multiple-occupation.aspx

## Article 4 for house shares

Not yet confirmed: whether West Lancashire has an Article 4 direction on house shares.

## 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.

Civil Penalties Charging Policy 2017, linked from the council's Civil Penalties and Rent Repayment Orders page, which says 'the maximum amount being £30,000'. The Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy is also dated 2017 (enforcement page last updated 2 January 2026). The policy PDF (2017) covers HMO (s.72) and selective (s.95) licensing offences and a civil penalty 'of up to £30,000'.

Policy: http://www.westlancs.gov.uk/media/543738/civil-penalties-charging-policy-2017.pdf

## Consultations

We found no consultations when we researched West Lancashire.

## Not yet confirmed

We could not settle these points when we researched West Lancashire on 26 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

- No selective or additional licensing scheme was found. Checked: the private housing hub and all its subpages (tenant and landlord advice, HMO, enforcement, civil penalties). The council does not state the absence; committee papers were not searched.
- The HMO licence fee and licence term are not published on the council pages fetched.
- No civil penalty policy updated for the Renters' Rights Act 2025 was found; the 2017 policy uses a £30,000 maximum.
- Article 4: whether West Lancashire has an HMO (C3 to C4) Article 4 direction is not confirmed. Checked: the council's planning pages (Article 4 mentioned only generically) and planning.data.gov.uk (no Article 4 records for the council). None was found, but absence is inferred, not stated by the council; confirm with its planning team.

## Landlord register

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. West Lancashire is in North West, where registration is planned from 15 May 2027 to 14 August 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Read about the register: https://lettance.com/register

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From Lettance: https://lettance.com/councils/west-lancashire (catalogue edition 31 October 2026). This is information, not legal advice. Check the linked sources, and the council's own pages, before you act.