Consultation
Medway Additional and Selective Licensing Consultation – 23 March to 31 May 2026
Monday, March 23rd, 2026 - Medway Council
Date: Monday 23 March to Sunday 31 May 2026
About: Medway Council in Kent has launched a consultation on plans to implement an additional HMO licensing and a selective licensing scheme.
In Medway, Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) already need to be licensed if they are occupied by five or more people as they fall within the national mandatory HMO licensing scheme.
The Council are consulting on plans to introduce new additional and selective licensing schemes, as summarised below.
Before making a decision, the Council wants to hear from tenants, landlords, managing agents, residents, business owners, community organisations and anyone else who may be affected by the proposed schemes.
Proposed additional HMO licensing scheme
Medway Council are proposing to implement an additional HMO licensing scheme covering six council wards:
- Chatham Central and Brompton
- Fort Pitt
- Gillingham North
- Gillingham South
- Luton
- Watling
Within these six council wards, the scheme would extend licensing to most HMOs that fall outside the remit of national mandatory HMO licensing. This will include HMOs occupied by three or four people and all multi-occupied flats in purpose built blocks of flats where the block comprises three or more flats.
The Council are proposing to exclude section 257 HMOs from the scheme. These are properties that have been converted into self-contained flats, where less than two thirds of the flats are owner occupied and the conversion into flats does not comply with the relevant building regulations. Individual flats within such buildings may still need licensing depending on how they are occupied.
Proposed selective licensing scheme
Medway Council are proposing to implement a selective licensing scheme which would extend licensing to all private rented accommodation occupied by a single household or two unrelated sharers in seven council wards:
- Chatham Central and Brompton
- Fort Pitt
- Gillingham North
- Gillingham South
- Luton
- Strood North and Frindsbury
- Watling.
The intention is that both licensing schemes would start on the same day and run for a period of five years.
You can find more information about the business case for the new licensing schemes, and what the schemes entail, on the Council’s website.
Public meetings
Medway Council are holding two online consultation meetings to go through the proposals and collect views on the proposed schemes. These meetings will take place on:
You can register your interest to attend one of these meetings via the links above. Places are limited so please do so at the earliest opportunity.
Share your views
Once you have studied the proposals, you can complete the proposed property licensing scheme consultation questionnaire.
If you have any queries or need to request a paper questionnaire or any other format, please contact Medway Council on 01634 331 200 or email prsconsultation@medway.gov.uk. Paper copies of the questionnaire can also be collected from libraries in Medway.
The consultation will run for 10 weeks and closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 31 May 2026.
