Thurrock Selective Licence Fees: Standard, Higher Rate and Surcharges

The Two-Stage Fee Structure

Thurrock Council splits selective licensing fees into two payments, following the Part A / Part B structure established by UK Supreme Court case law.

Part A — Application Processing Fee: £236.98. This is non-refundable. You pay it when you submit your application through the online portal. It covers administrative processing, background screening and fit-and-proper checks.

Part B — Licence Grant Fee: £797.92. This is invoiced after the council issues a Notice of Intention to grant the licence. It covers ongoing compliance monitoring, inspections and enforcement for the five-year licence term.

Total standard fee: £1,034.90 for a five-year selective licence.

The Higher-Rate Penalty

If your property has been licensable for more than 12 weeks and you have not submitted a valid application, the Part B fee jumps to £1,530.42. That pushes the total to £1,767.40 — a £732.50 increase over the standard rate.

The 12-week clock starts from whichever is later: the date you first let the property, or the date the scheme came into force (January 2026). If you bought a tenanted property, the clock starts from your completion date; attach the Land Registry title transfer as evidence to qualify for the standard rate.

The Paper Application Surcharge

Thurrock strongly prefers online applications. If you submit a paper form instead, there is a flat £500 surcharge on top of the standard licence fee. That is not a replacement for the fee — it is an additional charge.

The Invalid Application Fee

Submitting an incomplete application does not protect you. If the council rejects your filing because documents are missing or the form is incomplete, it charges a £27 re-processing fee and gives you 14 days to correct and resubmit. During that 14-day window, you are still technically operating without a valid application and remain exposed to enforcement.

No Discounts

Thurrock Council does not offer discounts for NRLA or other landlord association membership, accreditation schemes or portfolio sizes under the selective licensing programme. The fee is the same for every landlord.

HMO Fees Are Separate

If your property is an HMO rather than a single-household let, different fee scales apply. A new five-year HMO licence for a property with 2–5 rooms costs £1,670 total. Larger HMOs and renewals have their own rates. The same Part A / Part B split applies.

Avoiding the Higher Rate

The single most expensive mistake a Thurrock landlord can make is delaying the application past the 12-week mark. The higher rate adds £732.50 to your bill with no additional benefit — the licence you receive is identical. If you think your property may need a licence, apply early.

For a full fee comparison table across all three Thurrock schemes and a step-by-step application guide, see our Thurrock landlord licensing guide.

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