Landlord postcode check

① Property licensing

Whether the council has an additional HMO or selective licensing scheme in force or approved, and whether your postcode sits inside it. We track 140 schemes across 82 councils, each checked against the council’s own website. If a scheme covers only some wards, we match your postcode to its ward; where we can’t be sure, we say so and link the council map.

If we find no scheme, that is not a statement that you don’t need a licence. Mandatory HMO licensing applies everywhere in England to an HMO with 5 or more people forming 2 or more households. Always confirm with the council. More: selective licensing by council, do I need an HMO licence?

② Landlord database (PRS Database)

The government’s “Register your rental property” service opens region by region from 15 December 2026. We show your region’s three-month registration window and the days left. The fee is £65 per property per year, and only the landlord can create the registration. More: register your rental property.

③ Energy rating (EPC)

The share of privately rented homes in your council area whose latest EPC is D or below, from the EPC register, plus a link to look up your own certificate on GOV.UK. Rented homes currently need at least an E unless exempt. The government has set a target of C for rented homes by 1 October 2030; the regulations are not yet in force. More: EPC for rental property.

④ Court and eviction timing

The county court that handles possession claims for your postcode (from the HMCTS court finder), and Ministry of Justice timings for private landlords. In 2026 Q2 the median was 8 weeks from claim to possession order and 24.6 weeks from claim to bailiff repossession. Court fees: £415 to start a claim, £152 for a warrant of possession. Where volumes allow, we add a backlog indicator for the court; it is our estimate from MoJ volumes, not a waiting time. More: eviction timing by court, eviction timeline.

⑤ Second-home council tax premium

Whether the council charges a premium on furnished homes that are nobody’s main home (for example, empty between lets), and the 2026/27 Band D figure. Premium rates are taken from MHCLG council tax statistics; councils that started a premium after October 2025 may not show yet. More: second-home council tax premium.