West Midlands · Council licensing
Coventry operates discretionary property licensing. Letting an unlicensed property where a scheme applies risks a civil penalty of up to £30,000 and a rent repayment order — check whether your property is covered below.
Required for any HMO let to 5 or more people forming 2+ households who share facilities. Check the council for the current fee.
No selective licensing scheme is currently in force.
Coventry operates a city-wide additional HMO licensing scheme. The current (renewed) scheme designation was made on 7 October 2024, came into force on 4 May 2025 and runs until 3 May 2030 (5 years). It applies to any HMO occupied by 3 or 4 occupiers irrespective of storeys, plus section 257 HMOs that are mainly or wholly tenanted (with limited exemptions for two-flat blocks not above commercial premises and where the building shares no internal/external common parts and is no more than two storeys). The original city-wide scheme ran from 4 May 2020 to 3 May 2025 and resulted in around 11,598 licence conditions added and approximately £1.6m of investment in HMO improvements. Licence fees range from £820 to £2,070 depending on eligibility. Coventry Landlord Accreditation Scheme (CLAS) is a free voluntary scheme.
Areas: Whole of Coventry City area - all HMOs in the City subject to additional licensing for five years
Scheme runs until: 3 May 2030
Source: Coventry licensing page →
A valid Gas Safety certificate (annual), an EICR (every 5 years), a valid EPC, a protected deposit, smoke & CO alarms, the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet, and a current How to Rent guide — plus the new Section 8 possession rules since Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026.
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