Where our data comes from, what each tool does, and what a subscription covers.
You can, and it will answer fluently. The problem is the source: a general model answers from what has been written about your council, not from what your council designated. We read the designation itself — the date, the wards, the section of the Housing Act it was made under — and where we have not established a council's position we say so rather than guessing. We checked all 318 councils by hand and found nineteen published positions that were wrong.
We use the same models you do and we have not trained anything. What differs is grounding: the models are pointed at councils' own designation notices and at the legislation, and they are not permitted to state a date, fee or area that does not appear in the source document. Where the source says nothing, the answer is that we do not know.
Three things. It does not know when something changes — Croydon designated a new scheme on 25 March 2026 and Salford's additional scheme lapsed on 19 July with no renewal published, and we caught both. It has no memory of your properties, so it cannot know your gas certificate expires in November unless you retell it every time. And it will not be wrong in a way you can check: we cite the instrument, so you can verify any claim we make.
We track all 318 councils in England and Wales. Councils we publish a position for are re-checked on a rolling schedule, councils with a live consultation are checked twice a week, and a weekly integrity job flags any record that contradicts itself or has gone stale. Every council page shows the source document and the date we last verified it.
It depends on the address. Five or more occupiers in two or more households means a mandatory HMO licence anywhere in England and Wales. Beyond that, a licence applies only where the council has designated selective or additional licensing over that area — 87 of 318 councils operate at least one scheme, and most cover part of their area rather than all of it.
Selective licensing, under section 80 of the Housing Act 2004, covers ordinary private lets in a designated area, including single-family tenancies. Additional licensing, under section 56, covers houses in multiple occupation that fall outside the national mandatory regime — typically three or four occupiers.
A maximum of five years, and it does not roll over. When a designation ends the requirement ends with it unless the council designates again. Councils frequently re-designate, sometimes with a gap: Oxford's additional scheme ended on 9 June 2026 and its replacement began on 25 June.
Yes. Five questions, no account, no card. You get the full requirement list for the address with the legislation behind each item, and the council's licensing position.
It reads an uploaded agreement and reports problems cited to the Act and section — Renters' Rights Act 2025 changes, the deposit cap, prohibited payments under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. The issue count and the most serious finding are free; the full findings and the corrected document require a subscription.
Every feature is on both tiers; only the property count differs. Landlord covers two properties at £9.99 a month, Portfolio is unlimited at £19.99. That includes certificate tracking with expiry reminders, the compliance advisor, Fix My Agreement, legislation monitoring and the portfolio map. Fourteen-day free trial, card required.
A general model answers from what has been written about your council. We answer from what your council actually designated — with the date and the wards — and where we have not established it, we say so instead of guessing.
We use the same models you do. We have not trained anything. The difference is entirely in what we point them at, and in what we refuse to let them say.
We checked all 318 councils by hand. Nineteen were wrong.