Licensing in West Northamptonshire

• Additional HMO licence

  In forceMedium confidence

  West Northamptonshire Additional HMO Licensing Scheme 2025–2030

  Area

  Only the selected mapped area around Northampton, extending the previous 2020–2025 footprint into adjoining areas described by the council as Northampton and Daventry. The currently linked PDF shades the Northampton conurbation and adjoining former Daventry areas, not the whole current council or all Daventry town. Its boundary must be checked for the exact property; do not infer whole-road/ward coverage from place names.

  Runs

  24 February 2025 to 23 February 2030

  Fee

  Published standard fee: £1,505

  2026/27 adopted schedule: new and renewal £1,505 (£650 Part 1 + £855 Part 2), plus £48 Part 2 per permitted person above five. Current fee hub calls the linked Appendix E final and confirms Council approval 26 February 2026, despite the PDF retaining a proposed-column heading. Part 1 with application, Part 2 within 14 days of notice of intention to grant; no licence until paid. The current application page links this schedule. No published accreditation/early discount identified. Confirm fee treatment of section 257 blocks rather than assuming flats are persons.

  Who needs one

  Within the mapped area, HMOs with three or four occupiers forming two or more households, including qualifying self-contained HMO flats. The adopted November 2024 decision also addresses section 257 HMOs that are mainly or wholly tenanted, including those with resident landlords. Current guidance describes section 257 converted blocks failing relevant Building Regulations and with fewer than two-thirds of flats owner-occupied; obtain the designation for any borderline block/occupation case.

  Exemptions

  Council current guidance lists Schedule 14 exclusions, including qualifying public/social housing, regulated accommodation, approved-code student accommodation, owner occupation with no more than two lodgers, two-person occupation, and qualifying religious communities (except section 257 cases); temporary exemption notices may apply. Check the statutory test for the particular building.

  Apply on the council’s websiteCouncil's map or designation
  ›How we checked this

  Cabinet approved 19 November 2024, with effect 24 February 2025 for five years; current council licensing page expressly confirms it started. Five-year period gives last day 23 February 2030; no separate signed cease-day wording was recovered. The current linked area PDF still says Proposed HMO Additional Licensing Consultation area, dated 10 July 2024; Cabinet adopted Appendix D maps and current guidance links that same footprint, but obtain the final signed designation/street schedule for exact boundary disputes. Maps were inspected visually, no whole-ward or exhaustive street list inferred. Current page says three or more occupants; the adopted decision specifies three or four, with mandatory five-plus licensing separate. Previous additional designation ended 31 January 2025, outside the preceding twelve months; no historical gap is silently filled. Individual licence cannot run beyond designation end; 2023 policy gives up to five years for timely completed applications and possible enforcement if unjustifiably later than thirteen weeks. No later selective or additional designation/consultation was identified in broadened official searches; current licensing guidance lists only mandatory and this additional regime.

  Sources

  • westnorthants.gov.uk: types hmo licences
  • westnorthants.gov.uk: apply new hmo licence
  • westnorthants.gov.uk: fees and charges
  • westnorthants.moderngov.co.uk: Appendix E Fees and Charges 2026 27 (PDF)
  • westnorthants.moderngov.co.uk: ieListDocuments
  • westnorthants.moderngov.co.uk: Proposed Designation of an Additional Houses in Multiple Occupation HMO Licensing Scheme (PDF)
  • westnorthants.moderngov.co.uk: Decisions 19th Nov 2024 18.30 Cabinet (PDF)
  • cms.westnorthants.gov.uk: download
  • cms.westnorthants.gov.uk: download

• Mandatory HMO licence

  In forceMedium confidence

  Mandatory HMO licensing

  Area

  Whole current West Northamptonshire unitary area, including former Northampton, Daventry and South Northamptonshire districts.

  Fee

  Published standard fee: £1,505

  2026/27 adopted schedule: new and renewal £1,505 (£650 Part 1 + £855 Part 2), plus £48 Part 2 per permitted person above five. Current fee hub calls the linked Appendix E final and confirms Council approval 26 February 2026, despite the PDF retaining a proposed-column heading. Part 1 with application, Part 2 within 14 days of notice of intention to grant; no licence until paid. The current application page links this schedule. No published accreditation/early discount identified. Confirm fee treatment of section 257 blocks rather than assuming flats are persons.

  Who needs one

  HMOs rented to five or more people from more than one household sharing toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities, with at least one paying rent, subject to statutory exemptions.

  Exemptions

  Council current guidance lists Schedule 14 exclusions, including qualifying public/social housing, regulated accommodation, approved-code student accommodation, owner occupation with no more than two lodgers, two-person occupation, and qualifying religious communities (except section 257 cases); temporary exemption notices may apply. Check the statutory test for the particular building.

  Apply on the council’s website
  ›How we checked this

  Current licensing guidance updated 30 June 2026; application guidance 22 July 2026. Applicant/manager must be over 18, fit and proper, resident in the UK and not in prison, otherwise another eligible holder/manager is needed. Complete application, declaration and Part 1 needed for validity. Non-transferable; new holder needs new application. Maximum normally five years, shorter for planning/building-control or management/enforcement concerns; 2023 policy sections 6.23–6.24 and 21.12 describe this. No tacit consent; aim 26 weeks. Council moved applications to the new regulatory portal and expressly says not to use saved legacy links. Standalone current licence conditions not recovered; standards guidance distinguishes Northampton/Daventry from South Northants and says unification is under review.

  Sources

  • westnorthants.gov.uk: types hmo licences
  • westnorthants.gov.uk: apply new hmo licence
  • westnorthants.gov.uk: fees and charges
  • westnorthants.moderngov.co.uk: Appendix E Fees and Charges 2026 27 (PDF)
  • cms.westnorthants.gov.uk: download
  • westnorthants.gov.uk: hmo standards fire safety and

Council source

West Northamptonshire's civil penalty policy

• 2024 additional HMO licensing consultation — approved by Cabinet 19 November 2024Approved

  Closed 7 Oct 2024

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

• Not yet confirmed

  Obtain the final signed 2025 additional designation and complete property/street schedule. The current council page confirms operation but links a map still labelled as the July 2024 consultation proposal; Cabinet Appendix D maps were adopted. Exact boundary and section 257 occupation tests should follow the signed instrument.

• Not yet confirmed

  Confirm treatment and fee calculation of section 257 blocks, including any distinction between the current page’s broad section 257 wording and the adopted decision’s mainly/wholly-tenanted qualification. Do not convert number of flats into a person-based supplement.

• Not yet confirmed

  Obtain current standard licence conditions; the live standards page links different Northampton/Daventry and South Northants amenity guides while saying unification is under review.

• Not yet confirmed

  Obtain an adopted RRA-updated housing enforcement/civil penalty policy and effective date. The currently linked April 2023 v2.0 retains historical £30,000 figures; absence of a newer search result is not confirmation of no replacement.

• Not yet confirmed

  Confirm the exact first operative day of the March 2011 Sunnyside direction if a single earliest Article 4 date is needed; no day inferred. Multiple orders cover distinct areas/dates, including Boughton Rise outside former Northampton.

• Not yet confirmed

  Continue monitoring for a selective designation or new discretionary consultation. Current council guidance says mandatory and additional operate and searches found no selective scheme or later live proposal; this is not a guarantee about unpublished changes.

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. West Northamptonshire is in East Midlands, where registration is planned from 15 February 2027 to 14 May 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Read about the register