Landlord licence Coventry: HMO licensing rules and fees

Landlord licence Coventry at a glance

Sources: Coventry City Council pages listed under Sources, checked 21 October 2026.

How big is the private rented sector in Coventry?

Coventry had 33,195 privately renting households at the 2021 Census, out of 134,140 in total: 24.7% of all households, against 20.3% for England and Wales. That puts Coventry 32nd of 331 local authorities by number of private renting households and 54th by share. Owner-occupiers made up 57.4% (77,062 households) and social renters 17.0% (22,766).

Selective licensing Coventry: is there a scheme?

No. Coventry City Council consulted on selective licensing in 2019 but didn't take it forward, and there's no selective designation in force. Family lets and 2-person lets in Coventry don't need a property licence.

Coventry additional HMO licensing scheme 2025

The council's Additional Licensing Scheme 2025 applies across the whole city from 4 May 2025 to 3 May 2030. It covers HMOs with 3 or 4 occupiers from 2 or more households, and most section 257 HMOs (certain converted blocks of flats that don't meet building regulations). Larger HMOs with 5 or more occupiers need a mandatory licence. With two universities in the city, many of these properties are student lets.

How Coventry decides licence length

Coventry grants HMO licences for 1, 2 or 5 years. A new application normally gets a 1-year licence where the HMO was acquired or began operating as an HMO in the previous 12 weeks, where a licence expired before a valid renewal was made, or where the licence holder changes. A longer licence may be available in some of those cases if the holder already has other Coventry HMO licences and meets the eligibility criteria. To renew at the renewal rate, you must apply while the existing licence is current and be the existing licence holder; licences don't transfer, so a new owner always makes a new application. Stage 2 must be paid within 14 days of the decision to issue the licence.

Coventry landlord licence fees

Coventry's HMO fees (mandatory and additional) are paid in 2 stages: a Stage 1 fee of £716 on application, then a Stage 2 fee that depends on the licence length. A 5-year licence where all eligibility criteria are met: £944 total (Stage 2 £228). A 2-year licence: £1,116 (Stage 2 £400). A standard 1-year licence: £1,571 (Stage 2 £855). Renewal: £937 (Stage 2 £221). The higher rate for an HMO found operating unlicensed for more than 12 weeks is £2,241 (Stage 2 £1,525). Your application isn't 'duly made' until Stage 1 is paid, and Stage 1 fees for withdrawn applications aren't refunded. A paper application pack costs £42.

Councils usually split a licence fee into two parts: one paid when you apply, covering processing, and one paid before the licence is granted, covering running and enforcing the scheme. Where the council publishes the split, we show it above. Fees are reviewed regularly, so treat these as correct on the date we checked and confirm on the council's fee page before you pay.

Do I need a landlord licence in Coventry? A quick check

1. Count the people and households living in the property.
2. If 5 or more people from 2 or more households share facilities, you need a mandatory HMO licence.
3. If 3 or 4 people from 2 or more households share, you need an additional HMO licence anywhere in Coventry.
4. If it's a converted block of flats that doesn't meet building regulations, check whether it's a section 257 HMO under the additional scheme.
5. If it's a single-household let, no property licence is needed.

People also ask about landlord licensing in Coventry

Do I need a landlord licence in Coventry? Only for an HMO: 3 or more people from 2 or more households. Coventry has no selective licensing.

How much is an HMO licence in Coventry? From £944 for a 5-year licence to £1,571 for a standard 1-year licence, or £2,241 if found unlicensed.

When does Coventry's additional licensing end? The current scheme runs to 3 May 2030.

What every Coventry landlord must do, licence or not

Whatever the licensing position for your street, the core safety and paperwork duties for Coventry landlords are the same as anywhere in England:

• gas safety: a Gas Safe check every 12 months, with the record given to tenants;
• electrical safety: an EICR at least every 5 years, with a copy to tenants;
• energy: an EPC of at least band E, unless the property is exempt;
• deposits: protected in an approved scheme within 30 days, with the prescribed information served;
• alarms: a smoke alarm on every storey with living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance (except gas cookers);
• Right to Rent: checks on all adult occupiers before the tenancy starts.

These are also the documents a council is most likely to ask for when it processes an application or carries out a compliance visit.

What happens if you let without the right licence in Coventry?

If a property needs a licence and doesn't have one, the landlord commits an offence. The council can prosecute (with an unlimited fine on conviction) or issue a civil penalty of up to £40,000, the limit that has applied since 1 May 2026, and tenants can claim back up to 24 months' rent through a rent repayment order. Westminster, Brighton & Hove and Islington are among the councils that publish these limits. Applying promptly matters: the offence is avoided once a valid application has been made.

Keeping to your licence conditions

Councils grant most licences for up to 5 years and attach conditions, such as providing a gas safety certificate each year on request, maintaining smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, producing electrical safety reports, and handling repairs promptly. Inspectors check these against your records.

Gaffy keeps those records in order. Upload each certificate once, tag its expiry date, and Gaffy tells you what's expired or coming up, property by property. Tenants send repair requests with photos through a simple link, with no app to install, so you build a dated history of what was reported and when it was fixed. Pricing is £12 a month for up to 5 properties, then £4 a month per extra property, and your first month is free. We don't submit licence applications on your behalf.