Wales · Council licensing
Landlord licensing in Rhondda Cynon Taf
✓ Hand-verified 19 Aug 2026Rhondda Cynon Taf 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 separate lettings.
| 2 units | £983 |
| 3 units | £1,162 |
| 4 units | £1,341 |
| 5 units | £1,520 |
| 20 units | £4,205 |
- Discount
- Rising to 20 units £4,205 or £3,565
Rhondda Cynon Taf — RCT HMO Licensing Fee Policy, read 19 Aug 2026
No active selective licensing scheme in Rhondda Cynon Taf. RCT has not designated any selective licensing area under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 and manages the private rented sector through its long-standing borough-wide additional HMO licensing scheme instead (plus planning controls and a voluntary Property Accreditation Scheme in Treforest). Note that across Wales as a whole, all private landlords and managing agents are required to register with Rent Smart Wales (the national landlord registration scheme established under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014) — this is separate from and additional to any local council licensing scheme. RCT landlords must comply with both Rent Smart Wales registration AND any applicable HMO licensing from Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council.
Rhondda Cynon Taf operates a borough-wide additional licensing scheme. The Additional Licensing (Houses in Multiple Occupation) Scheme 2024 came into effect on 1 April 2024 and lasts five years, to 31 March 2029, replacing the 2019 designation. From 1 April 2024 all houses in multiple occupation in the borough require a licence under it, so the scheme reaches well below the mandatory threshold: large HMOs of three storeys or more with five or more tenants in two or more households continue to be regulated under mandatory licensing, and everything else falls to the additional scheme. Some form of additional licensing has run in the county borough since 2006, introduced to secure satisfactory management and physical standards where landlords were not acting on persistent anti-social behaviour; the council reports the scheme has removed 796 category 1 and 2 hazards from 346 properties. Licences are normally granted for up to five years, and licences issued under the previous scheme were carried over rather than cancelled. Applications are online only. Separately from all of this, every landlord and agent in Wales must be registered and licensed with Rent Smart Wales under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, which is a national requirement and not a discretionary local scheme.
Areas: Borough-wide, all electoral wards. RCT Additional Licensing (HMO) Scheme, confirmed 21 December 2023
Rhondda Cynon Taf publishes this much: Same per-unit schedule as mandatory. Borough-wide across all electoral wards. Designation confirmed 21 December 2023.
The council’s own licensing page carries the charge that applies today — confirm it there before you budget.
Not established is not the same as free.
Scheme runs until: 31 March 2029
Common questions
Does Rhondda Cynon Taf have a selective licensing scheme?
No. Rhondda Cynon Taf does not currently operate a selective licensing scheme. Mandatory HMO licensing still applies wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households.
Does Rhondda Cynon Taf have an additional HMO licensing scheme?
Yes. Rhondda Cynon Taf 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 Rhondda Cynon Taf?
A mandatory HMO licence is required anywhere in England and Wales, including Rhondda Cynon Taf, 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 explained: who needs it, how to check
- Additional HMO licensing: the scheme for small shared houses
- Selective, additional or mandatory: which licence applies
- Do I need a licence to rent out my house?
Welsh letting law is not English letting law. These cover what actually applies here.
Additional HMO licensing in Rhondda Cynon Taf: areas, dates and fees →
All property licensing in Wales →
Source: Rhondda Cynon Taf licensing page →
Every landlord in Rhondda Cynon Taf also needs
A valid Gas Safety certificate (annual), an EICR (every 5 years), a valid EPC, a protected deposit, and smoke & CO alarms. In Wales you must also be licensed with Rent Smart Wales (or use a licensed agent), issue a written occupation contract and the accompanying written statement, and comply with the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 — which replaced assured shorthold tenancies with occupation contracts and ended Section 21 in Wales in December 2022. The England-only How to Rent guide and Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet do not apply here.
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