Free check · 3 minutes · no sign-up
Is your landlord licensed in Bedford?
We hold a copy of Bedford’s official property licence register, so you can check your address in seconds. If your landlord needed a licence and didn’t have one, the law says they may have to pay back up to 24 months’ rent.
Works for homes you rent now or rented before.
Licensing in Bedford
Bedford runs additional licensing across the whole borough, so shared homes with 3 or more people from 2 or more households need a licence, on top of national mandatory HMO licensing. We have not found a selective licensing scheme here, so an ordinary single-family rental is less likely to need one.
Our copy of the register covers the mandatory HMO licences the council publishes. Bedford publishes its additional licensing register separately, and the date on it is unclear: the page says February 2025 while the file is named for December. If your home looks like it should be licensed and we find no match, we send it to a person to check rather than telling you it is unlicensed.
Not every rented home needs a licence, and the rules depend on who lives there and how. Our free check works it out for your exact situation in about 3 minutes.
What happens if a landlord isn’t licensed?
Renting out a licensable property without a licence is an offence. Tenants can apply to a tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order, reclaiming up to 12 months’ rent, rising to 24 months under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. A Section 21 eviction notice served while the property was unlicensed may also be invalid.
We check the register, work out whether your home needed a licence, and if you have a case we prepare the full tribunal pack for a flat fee. No percentage of your money, ever.
Start with your postcode. The check is free, takes about 3 minutes, and you’ll see the register result for your address along the way.