South East · Council licensing
Landlord licensing in Woking
✓ Hand-verified 25 Aug 2026Woking 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 how many people live in the property.
| 2 bed | £850 |
| 4 bed | £870 |
| 5 bed | £880 |
| 6 bed | £890 |
| 9 bed | £920 |
| Each bedroom let | £10 |
- Renewal Part 1 £500 plus £10 per bedroom plus £130
- Discounts: accredited landlord £100 off Part 2, registered charity or not-for-profit £200 off Part 1
Woking — woking.gov.uk, read 19 Aug 2026
Woking does not currently operate a selective licensing scheme. It has run one before: a designation covering part of the borough came into force on 1 April 2018 and ceased to have effect on 31 March 2023. It has not been replaced, and the council's selective licensing pages and its selective licensing public notice have both been withdrawn. The council's current licensing effort is its borough-wide additional HMO licensing scheme, designated in September 2025 and in force from 5 January 2026, which covers shared houses rather than ordinary single-household lets. A landlord letting an ordinary self-contained flat or a single-family house in Woking therefore needs no property licence at present, though an HMO in the borough does.
An additional HMO licensing scheme is in force across the whole borough of Woking. The designation was made on 29 September 2025 under section 56 of the Housing Act 2004, came into force on 5 January 2026 and ceases to have effect on 4 January 2031 unless the council revokes it earlier. It applies to a house or flat let to three or more tenants forming more than one household who share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom, and to a live-in landlord with three or more lodgers who share those facilities. In practice a shared home of three or four occupants now needs a licence in Woking where previously only five or more did. A property is outside the scheme where it is already licensable under mandatory licensing, is subject to an interim or final management order, holds a temporary exemption, is a building listed in Schedule 14 of the Act, or is the landlord's only or main residence shared with no more than two lodgers. The designation covers the borough as delineated on its map and remains in place for any successor authority following local government reorganisation.
Areas: Borough-wide. HMOs with 3 or 4 occupants. Designated by Executive 11 September 2025
The band is set by the number of bedrooms.
| from 5 | £700 |
| 2 to bed | £850 |
| 4 to bed | £870 |
| Each bedroom let | £10 |
- Renewal Part 1 £500 plus £10 per bedroom, Part 2 £130 (2-bed £650)
- Discounts: £100 accredited individuals, £200 registered charity off Part 1
Woking, read 25 August 2026
Scheme runs until: 4 January 2031
Common questions
Does Woking have a selective licensing scheme?
No. Woking 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 Woking have an additional HMO licensing scheme?
Yes. Woking 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 Woking?
A mandatory HMO licence is required anywhere in England and Wales, including Woking, 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 Woking: areas, dates and fees →
All property licensing in South East →
Source: Woking licensing page →
Every landlord in Woking 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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