Greater Manchester · Council licensing
Landlord licensing in Rochdale
✓ Hand-verified 19 Aug 2026Rochdale 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.
One payment.
| Each habitable room | £53 |
Rochdale — rochdale.gov.uk, read 19 Aug 2026
Rochdale Borough Council does NOT operate a selective licensing scheme. The council's Cabinet report when considering discretionary licensing options (2024) explicitly rejected selective licensing as placing "an unnecessarily high burden on all landlords in Rochdale" and determined that additional HMO licensing was the more targeted solution. The rationale for choosing additional over selective was to specifically target HMO rental properties where risk to inhabitants is greatest, rather than imposing universal licensing on all private rented properties in designated areas.
Rochdale Borough Council operates a borough-wide additional HMO licensing scheme. The scheme (officially "The Rochdale Borough Council additional Licensing of HMOs Scheme") was designated on 28 January 2025, came into force on 28 April 2025, and runs for 5 years until 28 April 2030. It applies to any HMO occupied by 3 or 4 persons forming 2 or more households across the whole borough. Standard application fee £1,011 plus inspection fee of £53 per habitable room (example: 10 habitable room HMO costs £1,541 total for 5 years = approx £308/year). Rochdale has circa 90,000 homes and population of 223,000. Since 2016 the council has seen a 46% rise in private tenant complaints with rising HMO concerns (disrepair, overcrowding, waste, ASB). The council considers almost all inspected HMOs since 2016 to have contained category 1 hazards, with widespread fire safety failures. Administered by the Housing Standards Team at Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale.
Areas: Borough-wide. Applies to 3 or more unrelated occupants forming 2 or more households, any number of storeys, plus s.257 converted buildings. Consultation ran 15 April to 15 July 2024
Rochdale publishes this much: £1,011 for a five-year licence plus a £53 inspection fee per habitable room. Worked example from the council: £1,011 plus ten rooms at £53 gives £1,541. The same fee applies to mandatory and additional HMO licences. Established from rochdale.gov.uk 19 Aug 2026.
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: 28 April 2030
Common questions
Does Rochdale have a selective licensing scheme?
No. Rochdale 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 Rochdale have an additional HMO licensing scheme?
Yes. Rochdale 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 Rochdale?
A mandatory HMO licence is required anywhere in England and Wales, including Rochdale, 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
Additional HMO licensing in Rochdale: areas, dates and fees →
All property licensing in Greater Manchester →
Source: Rochdale licensing page →
Every landlord in Rochdale 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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