Additional HMO licensing in Worcester
Yes. Worcester operates an additional HMO licensing scheme. Letting a covered property without a licence risks a civil penalty of up to £40,000 and a rent repayment order of up to two years' rent.
Common questions
Do I need an additional HMO licence in Worcester?
Yes. Worcester operates an additional HMO licensing scheme. Letting a covered property without a licence risks a civil penalty of up to £40,000 and a rent repayment order of up to two years' rent.
Which areas of Worcester does the scheme cover?
Entire city. The council states that on 21 May 2025 it designated the whole City of Worcester as subject to Additional Licensing, extended to 2030 by the Communities Committee in January 2025. This SUPERSEDES the earlier 2015-origin scheme and the 2020 to 2025 scheme one, which expired 31 August 2025. Confirm a specific address against the council's own designation map before applying.
When does Worcester's scheme end?
The designation runs until 31 August 2030, unless the council revokes it earlier under section 84 of the Housing Act 2004.
What does the licence cost?
£1,181.41 2 to 4 units. Councils commonly discount for accredited landlords and early applications; confirm the current figure with Worcester before budgeting.
The band is set by how many people live in the property.
| Part A | £556.41 |
| Part B | £625 |
| Total, 2 to 4 units | £1,181.41 |
| 5 to 7 units | £1,246.30 |
- Renewal, same structure: 2 to 4 units £433.84 + £625.00 = £1,058.84; 5 to 7 (s257 only) £497.70 + £625.00 = £1,122.70; 8 and above (s257 only) £601.73 + £625.00 = £1,226.73
Worcester, read 20 August 2026
What the designation says
Worcester operates an additional HMO licensing scheme covering the entire city. The council designated the whole of the City of Worcester on 21 May 2025, replacing and widening two earlier designations that between them covered only part of the city: one running from 1 September 2020 over St John, St Clement, Bedwardine, Cathedral and Arboretum, and one from 6 September 2023 over Battenhall, Claines, Gorse Hill, Nunnery, Rainbow Hill, St Peters, St Stephens, Warndon, Warndon Parish North and Warndon Parish South. Both of those ended on 31 August 2025. The current designation came into force on 1 September 2025 and lasts five years, until 31 August 2030. Because the scheme is now city-wide, an address anywhere in Worcester is within it, which is a change from the ward-based schemes that preceded it. Mandatory HMO licensing continues to apply separately wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households.
What this means for a landlord
A licence must be in place before the property is let, not applied for afterwards. Operating unlicensed in a designated area is a criminal offence: a civil penalty of up to £40,000 per offence and a rent repayment order of up to two years' rent. Both maxima apply to conduct on or after 1 May 2026; before that date they were £30,000 and twelve months. Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026 and possession now runs through the amended section 8 grounds. Mandatory HMO licensing applies separately and everywhere, wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households.
Information tool, not legal advice. Confirm the position with Worcester before letting.