East of England · Council licensing
Landlord licensing in Luton
✓ Hand-verified 19 Aug 2026Luton 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.
The band is set by the number of bedrooms.
| Part A | £705.55 |
| Part B | £436.72 |
| Total, 3 bedrooms | £1,142.27 |
| 4 bedrooms | £1,348.27 |
| 5 bedrooms | £1,554.27 |
- 5 bedrooms £932.15 + £622.12 = £1,554.27, rising with size
Luton — luton.gov.uk, read 19 Aug 2026
Luton operates a selective licensing scheme covering the town centre and Park Town areas. The designation was made on 25 October 2023 and the scheme went live on 1 June 2026. Within the designated areas every privately rented home needs a licence regardless of how many people occupy it, so an ordinary flat or a house let to a single household is caught as well as shared housing. Because the designation covers named areas rather than the whole borough, a landlord should check a specific address against the council's published boundary rather than assume from the postcode. Licence fees are charged in two parts: Part A covers processing the application and is not refundable, and the remainder covers monitoring and enforcement and is refunded to unsuccessful applicants. The council ran an early-bird payment period to support landlords applying. Letting an unlicensed property inside the designated area is a criminal offence carrying a civil penalty of up to £30,000 or prosecution, and exposes the landlord to a rent repayment order.
Areas: Town Centre and Park Town areas of Luton, specified by road rather than by whole ward
Paid in two parts — one on application, the balance before the licence is issued.
| Part 1 | £122 |
| Part 2 | £366 |
| Total | £488 |
- Renewal is charged as the licence fee
- Online application free, paper adds £51.60
- Discount stacks with it
- Discount only thereafter: accredited landlord minus £122, or EPC band C or above minus £122
- One discount only thereafter: accredited landlord minus £122, or EPC band C or above minus £122
Luton — Luton selective licensing fee structure PDF, read 19 Aug 2026
Scheme runs until: 4 February 2029
Luton operates a borough-wide additional licensing scheme. The designation was made on 25 October 2023 and came into force on 5 February 2024, running for five years to 4 February 2029. It applies to small houses in multiple occupation let to three or four people, which brings smaller shared homes within licensing below the five-occupant threshold of the national mandatory regime. Mandatory HMO licensing continues to apply separately wherever a property is let to five or more people. Fees are charged in two parts, with Part A covering non-refundable application processing and the remainder covering monitoring and enforcement. Because Luton also runs selective licensing in the town centre and Park Town, a landlord there should establish which scheme catches a given property before applying: a shared house of three or four occupants falls under additional licensing anywhere in the borough, while a single-household let needs a selective licence only inside the designated areas.
Areas: Borough-wide. Small HMOs with three or four persons. Designation made 25 October 2023, went live 1 June 2026
One payment.
Luton — luton.gov.uk, read 19 Aug 2026
Scheme runs until: 4 February 2029
Common questions
Does Luton have a selective licensing scheme?
Yes. Luton operates a selective licensing scheme. Letting a property covered by it without a licence risks a civil penalty of up to £30,000, a rent repayment order of up to twelve months' rent, and the loss of the right to serve a section 21 notice.
Does Luton have an additional HMO licensing scheme?
Yes. Luton operates an additional HMO licensing scheme. Letting a property covered by it without a licence risks a civil penalty of up to £30,000, a rent repayment order of up to twelve months' rent, and the loss of the right to serve a section 21 notice.
Do I need an HMO licence in Luton?
A mandatory HMO licence is required anywhere in England and Wales, including Luton, where a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households who share basic amenities. Smaller shared houses may also need a licence where an additional licensing scheme applies.
- Free landlord compliance check — five questions, no account
- Tenancy agreement checker — findings cited to the Act and section
Selective licensing in Luton: areas, dates and fees →
Additional HMO licensing in Luton: areas, dates and fees →
All property licensing in East of England →
Source: Luton licensing page →
Every landlord in Luton also needs
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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