Thurrock has 2 discretionary licensing schemes on our record: additional HMO licensing (in force), selective licensing (in force). Mandatory HMO licensing applies everywhere in England to HMOs with 5 or more people in 2 or more households.
Selective: yesAdditional HMO: yesMandatory HMO: alwaysChecked 28 Sep 2026
| Area covered | Whole council area |
|---|---|
| Designation made | 7 May 2025 |
| Runs | 7 Sept 2025 to 6 Aug 2030 |
Council licensing page Designation notice
Note from our check: additional fee not found on council pages checked
Checked 28 Sept 2026.
| Area covered | Listed wards only (16 wards) |
|---|---|
| Wards excluded | Little Thurrock Blackshots, Orsett, Stifford Clays, The Homesteads |
| Runs | 5 Jan 2026 to 4 Jan 2031 |
| Fee | £1,035 (Part A £237 + Part B £798) |
| Late / penalty fee | £1,767.40 (A £236.98 + B £1,530.42) if let >12 weeks without applying |
Aveley and Uplands · Belhus · Chadwell St Mary · Chafford and North Stifford · Corringham and Fobbing · East Tilbury · Grays Riverside · Grays Thurrock · Little Thurrock Rectory · Ockendon · South Chafford · Stanford East and Corringham Town · Stanford le Hope West · Tilbury Riverside and Thurrock Park · Tilbury St Chads · West Thurrock and South Stifford
Ward or street lists can split a road. Use the council's own address checker or designation map before relying on this list.
Note from our check: exact start day 5 Jan 2026 per NRLA (council says Jan 2026); FAQ says ward boundary changes do not affect designation - use original designation map; older council text '7 September 2025' refers to additional scheme
Checked 28 Sept 2026.
| Date | What | Scheme | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Sept 2030 estimated (start + 5 years) in 1439 days | scheme end | Additional HMO licensing | council |
| 4 Jan 2031 in 1559 days | scheme end | Selective licensing | council |
Want a reminder before a deadline? Use the form at the bottom of this page and pick "Email me before my deadlines".
Whatever the local schemes, a licence is required for any house in multiple occupation let to 5 or more people forming 2 or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. This rule is national and has applied since 1 October 2018. Letting without a required licence is a criminal offence under section 72 of the Housing Act 2004. Read do I need an HMO licence? and how to apply.
We did not find an online public register for Thurrock. Every council must keep one (Housing Act 2004, s.232) and make it available for inspection; ask the council's private sector housing team.
Thurrock does not publish Article 4 data to the national planning data platform, so we cannot tell you from official data whether an HMO Article 4 direction applies. Absence of data is not absence of a direction: check the council's planning pages.
Licensing and planning are separate. A licence does not give planning permission, and planning permission does not replace a licence. See Article 4 and HMOs.
Figures below count First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) decisions published on GOV.UK for properties located in Thurrock. They show how tenants and the council use enforcement here. Most civil penalties are paid without appeal, so they never reach the tribunal.
| Rent repayment order decisions | 4 (1 in the last 3 years) |
|---|---|
| Orders made | 2 (50% of decisions with a known outcome) |
| Median award | £1,491 (last 3 years: £671) |
| Total awarded | £2,981 |
| Civil penalty appeals | 7 |
| Penalty upheld (in full or reduced) | 85.7% · confirmed in full 0% |
| Median penalty: council's notice / after tribunal | £10,000 / £2,475 |
| Other Housing Act appeals (licence terms, notices, orders) | 3 |
| Decided | Area | Property | Offence alleged | Outcome | Amount | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Feb 2024 | SS17 | Flat | failure to comply with improvement notice | Order made | £671 | GOV.UK |
| 23 Nov 2022 | RM19 | HMO | unlicensed HMO; unlawful eviction / harassment | Order made | £2,310 | GOV.UK |
| 5 Jul 2022 | RM18 | HMO | unlicensed HMO | Refused | — | GOV.UK |
| 19 Mar 2019 | RM17 | House / not stated | failure to comply with improvement notice | Refused | — | GOV.UK |
| Decided | Area | Offence | Outcome | Council's penalty | After tribunal | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Apr 2023 | RM16 | breach of licence conditions | Penalty varied | — | — | GOV.UK |
| 14 Mar 2022 | RM15 | failure to comply with improvement notice | Penalty varied | — | £466 | GOV.UK |
| 1 Mar 2022 | RM17 | unlicensed HMO; HMO management regulations | Penalty varied | — | — | GOV.UK |
| 25 Oct 2021 | RM18 | failure to comply with improvement notice | Penalty varied | — | £1,950 | GOV.UK |
| 3 Dec 2020 | RM20 | unlicensed HMO | Penalty varied | — | £3,000 | GOV.UK |
| 18 Feb 2020 | — | unlicensed HMO; failure to comply with improvement notice; HMO management regulations | Penalty varied | — | £7,500 | GOV.UK |
| 1 Nov 2019 | RM20 | unlicensed HMO | Penalty cancelled | £10,000 | £0 | GOV.UK |
Amounts and outcomes are extracted automatically from the decision text and can be wrong; open the decision on GOV.UK for the full reasons. Party names are not shown. Information, not legal advice.
If you have let without a licence you needed, read unlicensed property: what to do, rent repayment orders and civil penalties.
Thurrock is in the East of England region of the new Private Rented Sector Database. Registration opens 15 Jan 2027 and the deadline to register is 14 Apr 2027. The published fee is £65 per property per year. Database registration is separate from council licensing: you may need both. See register your rental property.
We can prepare a licence application for you for a fixed fee; the council's own fee is separate. See pricing for what is included and how we make money. You can also run a full address check on the postcode checker.
Yes. in force until 4 Jan 2031 (part of the area). Check the council's map or address checker to confirm your street.
Selective licensing: £1,035. Fees for mandatory HMO licences are set by the council and published on its fees page.
Thurrock does not publish Article 4 data to the national planning data platform, so we cannot tell you from official data whether an HMO Article 4 direction applies. Absence of data is not absence of a direction: check the council's planning pages.
The First-tier Tribunal has published 4 rent repayment order decisions for properties in Thurrock (2 with an order made), median award £1,491, and 7 civil penalty appeals. Most penalties are never appealed, so the true number of fines is higher.
Related: selective licensing in England · additional HMO licensing · HMO licence cost · HMO rules · HMO hub
Last checked 28 Sep 2026. Information, not legal advice. Licensing schemes change often; always confirm with the council before you act.