Derby landlord compliance 2026

Derby licenses HMOs under the national mandatory scheme and warns landlords directly that it is working through a large backlog, so the statutory 90-day processing time may be exceeded. The council is separately consulting on an Article 4 direction for HMOs, which would remove permitted development rights for turning a family home into a small share. Plan the licence and the planning question together rather than in sequence.

Council areas

1 covered in detail

Schemes designated

Council

Official page

Mandatory HMO: 5+ occupantstwo or more households
Processing: Backlogcouncil warns 90 days may be exceeded
Article 4: Proposedconsultation on HMO permitted development
Section 257: Includedunder two thirds owner occupied

Local licensing

What is designated in Derby

Schemes run for a fixed period and are redesignated, widened or dropped. Confirm the current position with Derby City Council before you let a property.

Mandatory HMO licensing

Mandatory HMO

The national scheme applies: five or more people forming two or more households, sharing basic facilities. Apply early, because the council states that its current backlog means the 90-day processing time may be exceeded before you hear back.

What Derby counts as an HMO

Mandatory HMO

A house or self-contained flat where three or more people in two or more households share basic facilities; a building with units of non-self-contained accommodation shared by three or more people in two or more households; a converted building with units that are not self-contained; or a section 257 conversion into self-contained flats that does not meet the 1991 Building Regulations standard where fewer than two thirds of the flats are owner occupied.

Proposed Article 4 direction for HMOs

Article 4 planning

The council is consulting on removing permitted development rights for changing a family home into a small HMO. If it is made, the conversion needs planning permission first, and a licence will not substitute for it.

Derby City Council

National duties

The duties that apply in Derby whatever the council does

A licence sits on top of these, it does not replace them. Renewal cycles and maximum penalties are the same everywhere in England; the council is the body that enforces them locally.

Duty	Renewal	Maximum penalty
Gas SafetyGas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998	Every 12 months	Unlimited fine + up to 2 years in prison
EICRElectrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020	Every 5 years	£40,000 per property
EPCEnergy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015	Every 10 years / on new tenancy	£5,000 per property
DepositHousing Act 2004, as amended by the Localism Act 2011	30 days from receipt	1-3× deposit as damages
Right to RentImmigration Act 2014, amended by Immigration Act 2016	Before tenancy starts	Up to £20,000 per occupant
Section 8Housing Act 1988, s.8 (as amended by Renters’ Rights Act 2025)	When seeking possession	Possession refused if compliance missing
RRA 2025Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Royal Assent 27 Oct 2025; principal commencement 1 May 2026)	Phase-in from 1 May 2026	£7,000 → £40,000 (serious/repeat) + unlimited criminal

Each row links to the full duty: what it obliges you to do, what happens when it is missed and how to stay on top of it. Read the national guide.

If you get it wrong

What letting without a licence costs

These are statutory rather than local. Derby City Council can use all three, and a tenant can bring the second one without the council being involved at all.

Civil penalty: Up to £40,000Imposed by the council itself, without a prosecution. Serious or repeated breaches sit at the top of the range.
Rent Repayment Order: Up to 2 years’ rentThe tenant, or the council, applies to the First-tier Tribunal to have rent paid back. Separate from the penalty above, not instead of it.
Prosecution: Unlimited fineLetting an unlicensed HMO, or breaching a licence condition, is a criminal offence and can be prosecuted rather than penalised.

By council

Ward and council breakdown in Derby

Licensing, Article 4 status and enforcement change street by street. These pages carry the scheme, the typical fee and the council's own checker.

Derby City CouncilMandatory HMO licensing with a stated application backlog, and an Article 4 direction out for consultation.

Local enforcement

How Derby enforces it

The rules are national. How hard they are enforced, and on what, is not.

Two unrelated sharers are not an HMO

Derby sets out the household test plainly: a household is a single person, cohabiting partners, or people of the same family, and there are cases where a carer, au pair or nanny is treated as part of the family. Two unrelated people sharing a flat or house do not make it an HMO.

Key dates

What is coming between now and 2030

The part a council website will not tell you. Each of these lands on every landlord in England, including here.

1 May 2026Renters’ Rights Act in forceSection 21 abolished, all tenancies become periodic, rent rises go through Section 13 once a year.
6 Apr 2026MTD for Income Tax beginsMandatory digital quarterly reporting for landlords with £50k+ qualifying income.
15 Dec 2026PRS Database opensRegistration opens, West Midlands first. Each region then has three months, with the last deadline on 14 November 2027. £65 a property a year.
6 Apr 2027MTD threshold drops to £30kMore landlords pulled into digital quarterly tax reporting.
6 Apr 2028MTD threshold drops to £20kMost portfolio landlords now inside MTD ITSA.
1 Oct 2030EPC C required (MEES)Every privately rented home in England must reach EPC band C or register a valid exemption.

FAQs

Derby landlords: the questions we get

How long does an HMO licence take in Derby?

Longer than the statutory 90 days at the moment. The council states on its own HMO pages that it has a large backlog of applications and that the 90-day processing time may be exceeded before you hear from it, so apply well before a tenancy is due to start.

Will I need planning permission for an HMO in Derby?

Possibly. The council is consulting on an Article 4 direction that would remove permitted development rights for converting a family home into a small HMO. If it is made, you need planning permission before the conversion, separately from the licence.

Run a let through it

Every Derby let from one login

The licence and certificate dates are the start. LetCompliance advertises the property, references the tenant, signs the tenancy, collects the rent, chases the arrears, runs the repairs and prepares the tax, with the compliance score alongside. Free for one property, no card needed.

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