Guide
Selective licensing in England: why the answer is your council
Updated
Selective licensing is the closest England gets to landlord registration, and it is entirely local. A scheme can cover a few streets, and since December 2024 councils have needed less central sign-off to introduce one.
What selective licensing is
Under the Housing Act 2004, a local housing authority can designate an area in which every privately rented property needs a licence, whether or not it is an HMO. gov.uk states councils have powers to introduce selective licensing to address problems caused by low housing demand; significant anti-social behaviour; poor housing conditions; high levels of migration; high levels of deprivation and/or high levels of crime (gov.uk).
The change most landlords have not noticed
gov.uk states that with effect from 23 December 2024, a new General Approval came into force, and that local housing authorities in England are no longer required to obtain confirmation from the Secretary of State before implementing a selective licensing scheme of any size. They must still satisfy all statutory requirements in Part 3 of the Act, and are expected to consult for at least 10 weeks on a proposed designation, include the mayor where applicable, provide data to the department and publish review outcomes. In practice this removes a central brake on large schemes, so a designation covering a whole borough can now move faster than it once could.
How to check your address
- Find the council for the address at gov.uk/find-local-council.
- Search its site for 'selective licensing' and 'additional licensing', and read the current designation, its boundaries and its start and end dates.
- Check the exclusions. Designations commonly carve out particular tenures or property types, and reading the designation itself beats reading a summary of it.
- Check whether a consultation is open on a new or renewed scheme. Consultations run for at least 10 weeks and are the only warning you get.
- Check the council's public licensing register under section 232 of the Housing Act 2004 to see whether the property already holds a licence from a previous owner.
How this differs from HMO licensing
HMO licensing turns on how the property is occupied: mandatory licensing applies across England where 5 or more people from 2 or more households share facilities (gov.uk). Selective licensing turns on where the property is: in a designated area, a family home let to one household needs a licence. Both can apply to the same property, and additional licensing sits between them, extending HMO licensing to smaller HMOs in a designated area. A property can therefore be outside HMO licensing entirely and still be unlicensed and unlawful.
This site does not attempt to list which councils operate schemes. Designations start, end and change boundaries, and a national list is out of date the week it is published. The council's own page is the only source worth relying on for your address.