Selective Licensing for Landlords

Selective licensing is a scheme a local authority in England or Wales can introduce that requires every private rented property in a designated area to hold a licence, regardless of whether the property is a house in multiple occupation. It is aimed at raising standards across a whole rental market in a specific ward or borough, often in response to poor property conditions, anti-social behaviour or deprivation in that area, rather than at any particular property type.

This is different from HMO licensing, which depends on how many unrelated tenants share a property. A single let, non-shared flat can need a selective licence purely because of its postcode, even though it would never need an HMO licence under any circumstances. Our HMO licence requirements guide covers the separate mandatory and additional licensing schemes that apply to shared housing specifically, and our guide on whether a three-tenant let needs an HMO licence shows how the two schemes can overlap on the same property.

What selective licensing is

Under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004, a local housing authority can designate the whole or part of its district as subject to selective licensing if it considers the area suffers from problems such as low housing demand, significant anti-social behaviour, poor housing conditions, high levels of migration, deprivation or crime. Once a designation is confirmed, every property let under a tenancy or licence in that area needs a selective licence, with a small number of exemptions set out in regulations, such as properties already licensed as an HMO under the mandatory scheme, or certain properties managed by housing associations and similar bodies.

The rules apply area by area rather than nationally, so whether your property needs a licence depends entirely on the specific local authority and, within that authority, the specific streets or wards the designation covers. Two otherwise identical properties on either side of a designated area boundary can have completely different licensing obligations. Always check the local authority's own published maps and designation notices for the property's exact address rather than assuming a scheme you have heard about elsewhere applies, or does not apply, to your property.

How schemes are designated

A council wanting to introduce selective licensing must satisfy the requirements of the Housing Act 2004 and follow a defined process, which includes consulting people likely to be affected, including landlords, tenants and local residents, for at least ten weeks before the designation is confirmed.

Since 23 December 2024, local housing authorities in England no longer need confirmation from the Secretary of State before bringing a selective licensing scheme into force, following a general approval that removed the previous case-by-case sign-off requirement regardless of the size of the area covered. Authorities must still follow every other statutory step, including the consultation period, and are expected to publish evidence supporting the designation and the outcome of any review once the scheme has been running for a while.

A designation cannot take effect until at least three months after it is made, and once in force it lasts for a maximum of five years before it must be reviewed, renewed through a fresh designation, or allowed to lapse. This means a scheme that did not exist when you bought a property can be introduced during your ownership, and a scheme that does exist can be extended, changed or wound down over time, so it is worth checking the current position periodically rather than relying on what you were told at purchase.

Fees and conditions

Application fees for a selective licence are set individually by each local authority, so there is no single UK-wide figure. Fees commonly vary depending on the number of properties a landlord is licensing at once, and some councils offer a discount for early or block applications, for landlords who are accredited through a recognised landlord accreditation scheme, or for using an approved managing agent. Check the specific council's current fee schedule before budgeting for a licence, since figures published on general advice sites are not a reliable substitute for the local authority's own published fees.

Licences are typically granted for up to five years, matching the maximum length of the underlying designation, though a council can grant a shorter period and can attach specific conditions to the licence itself, such as requiring an up-to-date gas safety record and EICR, evidence of a written tenancy agreement, or a management plan for how the property is maintained. Failing to meet a licence condition can put the licence itself at risk, separately from the underlying question of whether you hold one at all.

As a worked example, a landlord letting three separate, non-shared flats across a borough that has introduced selective licensing covering part of its area would need to check each flat's address individually. If two of the three sit inside the designated boundary and one does not, only the two inside the boundary need a licence, even though all three are otherwise identical lettings by the same landlord.

Penalties

Letting a property that needs a selective licence without holding one is a criminal offence. Local authorities can prosecute through the courts or, more commonly in practice, issue a civil penalty as an alternative to prosecution, which can be a substantial sum depending on the severity and history of the breach; the specific maximum is set out in housing legislation and guidance rather than a fixed figure worth repeating here, since it can be revised.

Beyond a direct penalty, an unlicensed selective licensing breach can also expose a landlord to a Rent Repayment Order, where a tenant or the local authority applies to the First-tier Tribunal for repayment of rent paid during the period the property was let without the required licence, in a similar way to the sanctions that apply to unlicensed HMOs. It is also worth checking whether your buy-to-let mortgage terms require appropriate licensing to be in place, since some lenders treat an unlicensed property as a breach of the mortgage conditions, separately from any council enforcement action.

Given the financial and legal exposure, the safest approach for any landlord operating in an area that might be subject to selective licensing is to check the current designation before granting a new tenancy, not after. Our landlord legal responsibilities guide sets out how licensing obligations sit alongside the other core legal duties every private landlord in England needs to meet.

How Property HQ helps

Property HQ keeps selective and HMO licences, along with their expiry dates and the certificates a licence application typically depends on, in one compliance record with reminders ahead of renewal. That is particularly useful if you hold properties across more than one local authority area, since it removes the need to remember which council's designation applies to which address.

Disclaimer

This guide is general information for UK landlords, not legal advice. Selective licensing designations, fees and conditions vary by local authority and change over time. Check the relevant council's current designation and GOV.UK before letting or continuing to let a property.