We found no additional or selective licensing scheme in force in Plymouth on the council's website as of 28 Sep 2026. Mandatory HMO licensing applies everywhere in England to HMOs with 5 or more people in 2 or more households.
Selective: none foundAdditional HMO: none foundMandatory HMO: alwaysChecked 28 Sep 2026
We found no additional or selective licensing scheme in force on Plymouth City Council's website as of 28 Sep 2026. Mandatory HMO licensing still applies to any HMO with 5 or more people in 2 or more households. Confirm with the council (council page).
Note from our check: earlier analyst lead of possible scheme not supported by current council pages
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.
The council's public register of licensed properties: Plymouth City Council public register. Use it to check whether a property already holds a licence, for example before you buy. Licences do not transfer to a new owner.
Official planning data lists 1 HMO Article 4 area for Plymouth. Inside these areas, turning a family house (use class C3) into a small HMO (C4) needs planning permission.
| HMO Article 4 area | In effect from | Document |
|---|---|---|
| HMOs Mutley, Greenbank, City Centre and surrounding areas | 14 Sept 2012 | view |
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 Plymouth. 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 | 0 (0 in the last 3 years) |
|---|---|
| Civil penalty appeals | 4 |
| Penalty upheld (in full or reduced) | 100% · confirmed in full 50% |
| Median penalty: council's notice / after tribunal | £9,980 / £5,000 |
| Other Housing Act appeals (licence terms, notices, orders) | 8 |
| Decided | Area | Offence | Outcome | Council's penalty | After tribunal | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Mar 2021 | PL4 | not extracted | Penalty varied | £14,961 | £17,961 | GOV.UK |
| 30 Nov 2020 | PL1 | failure to comply with improvement notice | Penalty varied | — | £5,000 | GOV.UK |
| 24 Nov 2020 | PL4 | unlicensed HMO | Penalty confirmed | £5,000 | £5,000 | GOV.UK |
| 21 Oct 2020 | PL4 | not extracted | Penalty confirmed | — | — | 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.
Plymouth is in the South West region of the new Private Rented Sector Database. Registration opens 15 Aug 2027 and the deadline to register is 14 Nov 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.
We found no selective licensing scheme on Plymouth City Council's website as of 28 Sep 2026. Mandatory HMO licensing still applies to 5+ people in 2+ households. Confirm with the council.
We did not find a published fee on the council pages we checked. Mandatory HMO licence fees are set by each council, usually in two parts (application and grant). See the council page or our HMO licence cost guide.
Official planning data lists 1 HMO Article 4 area for Plymouth. Inside these areas, turning a family house (use class C3) into a small HMO (C4) needs planning permission.
The council publishes its public register of licences here: Plymouth City Council register. Councils must keep a register of licences under section 232 of the Housing Act 2004.
The First-tier Tribunal has published 0 rent repayment order decisions for properties in Plymouth (0 with an order made), and 4 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.