Landlord licensing in Tunbridge Wells Council

Licensing at a glance

HMO licensing

Mandatory HMO licensing applies to all properties let to five or more people forming two or more households who share facilities like a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. Such properties must be licensed by the council.

Additional licensing

Tunbridge Wells Council may implement additional licensing schemes to extend licensing to smaller HMOs not covered by mandatory licensing. These schemes are usually ward or street-specific and run for up to five years. Landlords must check current designations for the exact property address.

Selective licensing

Tunbridge Wells Council can designate areas for selective licensing, requiring all privately rented homes within those areas to be licensed, including single-family lets. Landlords must check current designations and boundaries before advertising a property.

Towns covered

Tunbridge Wells

What this means for you

If you let a property in the Tunbridge Wells Council area, first confirm which licensing regime applies to the exact address. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 (main provisions commenced 2026) replaced fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies with periodic assured tenancies, ended section 21 no-fault evictions, and introduced a national landlord database and ombudsman. Whatever the licensing position, maintain a robust evidence pack for every Tunbridge Wells tenancy: a current gas safety record where gas is present, an EICR no more than five years old, a valid EPC, working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, deposit protection and prescribed information, and all required prescribed documents served before the tenancy starts. Compliance with the new national landlord database is mandatory from 2026.

Official links

• Licensing pages
• Council website