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17/12/25 3:30 pm
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Telford & Wrekin Council has revealed that landlords would be expected to pay a hefty £1,522 fee if it goes ahead with an additional licensing scheme.
The authority has just launched a consultation into proposals that also include an Article 4 Direction in a bid to manage the impact of HMOs. A report explains that the PRS has seen significant growth across Telford and Wrekin, which has led to an increase in the number of properties being turned into HMOs. The council is aware of 317 larger HMO across the borough while it estimates there are at least another 400 smaller HMOs.
It says evidence suggests that where there is a higher density of HMOs, there is a correlation with higher levels of community issues, overcrowding and poor property conditions.
Additional licences typically cost between £700 and £1,500; Peterborough's new scheme costs landlords £1,100 while in the London borough of Brent, landlords will pay £1,040.
Telford & Wrekin has downplayed the £1,522 fee and says for compliant landlords, the licence would be in place for five years, so the cost would equate to just over 80p a day. The cost to go through planning to change the use of a dwelling (use class C3) to a small HMO (use class C4) is £588 (subject to fee increases).
Its report explains that six upper tier local authorities in the West Midlands region (including Telford and Wrekin) had increases in private rents between 2024 and 2025 that were greater than the regional average. Of these six local authorities, only Birmingham currently has an additional licensing scheme in place. It adds: “Where there has been an increase in rent it is more likely associated with supply and demand and not the introduction of discretionary licensing schemes.”
If the Article 4 Direction is confirmed there would be a 12-month period before it is brought into force.
To give feedback on the proposal to introduce an Article 4 Direction, you can complete a short questionnaire until 10th February and complete a short questionnaire into licensing plans until 11th March.
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