Data sources and licences
Everything on this site comes from official records. This page lists each dataset, what we use it for, and the licence and attribution it requires.
| Dataset | Publisher | Used for | Licence and attribution | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selective and additional licensing schemes | Each council’s own website and designation notices (296 councils in England) | Licensing block of the postcode check; council licensing pages | Facts taken from public-sector web pages; council ward lookups under OGL v3. Third-party lists were used only to find councils to check, never as the source of a fact. | Checked 28 Sep 2026; reviewed monthly |
| Article 4 direction areas | MHCLG planning.data.gov.uk, plus layers published by some councils | Article 4 HMO planning information | OGL v3. Boundaries contain OS data © Crown copyright and database right. | Downloaded 28 Sep 2026 |
| Residential Property Tribunal decisions | First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), published on GOV.UK | Rent repayment orders, civil penalty appeals and section 13 rent decisions by council | OGL v3. We publish counts, amounts, dates and outward postcodes only, not people’s names. | Decisions to 26 Sep 2026 |
| Mortgage and landlord possession statistics | Ministry of Justice | Court volumes and timings (latest: 2026 Q2) | OGL v3 (official statistics). | Quarterly |
| Civil justice statistics quarterly | Ministry of Justice | Small claims and enforcement figures by court | OGL v3 (official statistics). | Quarterly |
| Civil court fees (EX50) | HM Courts & Tribunals Service | Court fees in cost figures (from 13 Jul 2026) | OGL v3 / Crown copyright. | When fees change |
| Find a court or tribunal | HM Courts & Tribunals Service | Which county court handles possession claims for a postcode | OGL v3 / Crown copyright. | Checked 28 Sep 2026 |
| ONS Postcode Directory (August 2026) | Office for National Statistics | Postcode to council, ward and region | Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | Quarterly |
| Register your rental property: regional windows | MHCLG Housing Hub | Landlord database dates and fee | Crown copyright, OGL v3. | Checked 28 Sep 2026 |
| Energy Performance of Buildings data (domestic EPCs) | MHCLG | Share of privately rented homes rated D or below, by council | OGL v3. We publish council-level totals only; no addresses. | Monthly (data to Sep 2026) |
| Council tax levels 2026 to 2027 and Council Taxbase 2025 | MHCLG | Band D figures and second-home / empty-home premiums | OGL v3. | Annual |
| Price Index of Private Rents | Office for National Statistics | Average rents by council | OGL v3. | Monthly (data to Aug 2026) |
| UK and overseas companies that own property (CCOD / OCOD) | HM Land Registry | Counts of company-owned titles by council | Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Overseas Companies Ownership (OCOD) / UK Companies Ownership (CCOD) licence. | Monthly |
| Companies House company data | Companies House | Official company records (status, filings) where a company is named | Public register data, free to reuse. | Monthly snapshot |
| Legislation and guidance | legislation.gov.uk, GOV.UK | All rules and deadlines in our guides | OGL v3 / Crown copyright. | Checked per page |
Attribution
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Source: Office for National Statistics.
How we handle the data
- Own estimates are labelled. For example, the court backlog indicator is our calculation from MoJ volumes, not an official waiting time.
- No personal data from tribunal decisions. We show case type, outcome, amounts, dates and the outward part of the postcode, with a link to the decision on GOV.UK.
- Missing is not “no”. If we have no record of a licensing scheme or an Article 4 area, we say so and link the council, rather than telling you nothing applies.
- Companies: we show official records only, with dates and links, and no ratings.
Spotted something out of date? Email us via the about page.
Last checked 28 Sep 2026.