LU postcode district map, Luton
Supplier statuses last checked .
The LU postcode area covers 7 districts and 6,464 live postcodes, from LU1 to LU7. It is centred on Luton and also covers Houghton Regis, Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable.
It is a dense area by postcode standards: an average of 923 postcodes per district,.
Where the LU districts sit
Where LU sits
It is administratively fragmented, reaching into Central Bedfordshire, Luton, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire and 0 other authorities.
Water supply across LU
All 7 LU districts are supplied by Affinity Water. That makes LU simple in a way many areas are not: one company, one set of rules, one status to check.
Affinity Water has a hosepipe ban in force from 11 July 2026, covering the whole of LU.
The shape of the LU area
LU7 is the largest district with 1,402 postcodes around Leighton Buzzard, and LU6 the smallest with 712. The area divides into 33 postcode sectors.
LU7 alone holds about 22 per cent of every postcode in LU,.
District by district: LU1 serves Luton, LU2 serves Luton, LU3 serves Luton, LU4 serves Houghton Regis, LU5 serves Houghton Regis, LU6 serves Dunstable and LU7 serves Leighton Buzzard.
Several districts share a settlement, which is a common source of confusion when a form rejects an address: LU1, LU2 and LU3 all point at Luton and LU4 and LU5 all point at Houghton Regis.
What borders LU
LU sits next to AL (St Albans) to the south east, HP (Hemel Hempstead) to the south west, MK (Bletchley) to the north west, WD (Rickmansworth) to the south east and SG (Stevenage) to the east.
Its neighbours run in 4 different directions, so LU is landlocked by other postcode areas on most sides.
LU districts, settlements and water supply
| District | Principal settlement | Water company | Hosepipe ban status |
|---|---|---|---|
| LU1 | Luton | Affinity Water | Ban in force |
| LU2 | Luton | Affinity Water | Ban in force |
| LU3 | Luton | Affinity Water | Ban in force |
| LU4 | Houghton Regis | Affinity Water | Ban in force |
| LU5 | Houghton Regis | Affinity Water | Ban in force |
| LU6 | Dunstable | Affinity Water | Ban in force |
| LU7 | Leighton Buzzard | Affinity Water | Ban in force |
Principal settlement is the town or city each district sits in or nearest to, derived from OS Open Names. It is not the Royal Mail post town, which is licensed data and not published openly. Status is resolved live from each company’s own notice.
Water hardness in LU
No water company covering LU publishes hardness figures as open data. The gap is named per district below so you know who to ask.
| District | Hardness | As published | Supply zone | Published by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LU1 | Not published by Affinity Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| LU2 | Not published by Affinity Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| LU3 | Not published by Affinity Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| LU4 | Not published by Affinity Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| LU5 | Not published by Affinity Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| LU6 | Not published by Affinity Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
| LU7 | Not published by Affinity Water. Check with your supplier. | |||
Hardness is published per census area, not per postcode, so these figures characterise a district rather than measuring one address. They are a scale and taste matter, not a safety one. Hardness data version wessex-water@2022-2025+yorkshire-water@2026.
Download the LU data
No signup, no email wall. GeoJSON carries the district points, the supplier and the live status, so it can be dropped straight into a map.
District positions are averaged postcode centroids from OS Code-Point Open. They show roughly where a district sits, not where its boundary runs, and are not legal boundaries.
Frequently asked questions
How many postcode districts are in the LU area?
There are 7 LU postcode districts, running from LU1 to LU7, and they contain 6,464 live postcodes across 33 sectors.
What towns does the LU postcode area cover?
LU covers Luton, Houghton Regis, Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable. The area takes its name from Luton, and each district is listed with its settlement in the table on this page.
Which water company supplies LU postcodes?
Affinity Water supplies all 7 LU districts. Supply boundaries follow the pipe network rather than postcode geography, so confirm against your water bill if you are near the edge of the area.
Why do LU1 and LU2 both say Luton?
LU1, LU2 and LU3 all serve Luton, covering different parts of it. A single town routinely needs more than one postcode district once it passes a few thousand delivery points, so this is normal rather than an error in an address.
Can I download a free LU postcode map?
Yes. This page offers the LU districts as GeoJSON, CSV and SVG, free and with no signup or email address required. The GeoJSON carries each district's position, its water company and its current restriction status, so it can be dropped straight into a mapping tool.
Why is the LU area called Luton when it covers Leighton Buzzard?
LU takes its letters from Luton, where the sorting office that served the area was based when the code was allocated. Leighton Buzzard is the largest settlement in the area today, in LU7, but the area code follows the historic sorting geography rather than current population.
Which councils cover the LU postcode area?
LU reaches into Central Bedfordshire, Luton, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. A postcode area is not a council area: they were drawn for different purposes and a single district can sit across a council boundary, so your postcode does not tell you which authority you pay.