Selective Licensing UK 2026: Fees & Fines

You can have every certificate in date and still be letting illegally, because the council has put your street inside a licensing scheme. Unlike gas safety or the EICR, which apply the same way everywhere, selective licensing is designated ward by ward by each council, and the map changes every time a council re-designates a scheme. A property that was unlicensed last year may now be inside a fresh 5-year designation. A scheme that expired in March may have been renewed with harsher conditions in April.

Miss it and the consequences are severe: an unlimited fine on conviction, a civil penalty of up to £40,000 (for offences from 1 May 2026), and a Rent Repayment Order for up to two years’ rent back to the tenant. The new Private Rented Sector Database under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which opens on 15 December 2026, will also ask whether your property needs a selective licence and for the licence number.

This guide explains what selective licensing is, where it applies in 2026, what conditions you sign up to, typical fees, how to check your own property and what to do if you discover you’ve been letting unlicensed.

What selective licensing is (and isn’t)

There are three landlord licensing regimes under the Housing Act 2004. Get the terminology right:

Mandatory HMO licensing (Part 2, Housing Act 2004): Applies England-wide to any property occupied by 5 or more people forming 2 or more households. This is non-negotiable: councils have no choice about it.

Additional HMO licensing (Part 2): A council-designated extension of HMO licensing to smaller HMOs (typically 3–4 occupants, 2+ households). Individual councils choose to designate.

Selective licensing (Part 3): A council-designated licence requirement for all private rentals in a specified area, regardless of whether they are HMOs. This is the regime this guide covers.

Key point: A house that has to be licensed as an HMO (Part 2) does not also need a selective licence (Part 3). So if a 3-bed flat with 3 unrelated tenants falls within the council’s additional HMO scheme, it needs that licence only, not a selective licence as well. Check which scheme covers the property before you apply.

Whichever scheme applies, the licence is one more date in a let that also needs advertising, a tenancy agreement and the rent collected. From £7.99 a month, LetCompliance runs that let from one login and holds each licence on its property with reminders 90, 30 and 7 days before it expires. Get started

Why councils designate selective licensing

The Housing Act 2004 section 80 allows a council to designate an area for selective licensing if one or more statutory conditions are met. In 2026 the most commonly cited grounds are:

• Low housing demand (historic original purpose; now rare)
• Significant anti-social behaviour linked to the PRS
• Poor property conditions in the PRS (most common current ground)
• High levels of migration combined with integration problems
• High levels of crime
• High levels of deprivation

A designation must be consulted on for at least 10 weeks, evidence-based, and approved by the council’s cabinet. Schemes covering more than 20% of the council’s area or affecting more than 20% of privately rented properties used to require Secretary of State confirmation. A general approval removed that need from 23 December 2024, so councils can now make larger schemes without it. Verify the current statutory threshold on GOV.UK before challenging a scheme.

Where selective licensing applies in 2026

There is no single national map. Each council publishes its own designation. As of April 2026, schemes operate in these council areas, in whole or in part (non-exhaustive; check the council’s own page for the current map):

• London: Brent, Croydon, Enfield, Haringey, Hounslow, Lewisham, Newham (borough-wide), Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest (borough-wide).
• North West: Liverpool (borough-wide), Manchester (selected wards), Salford.
• North East: Middlesbrough, Newcastle upon Tyne (selected wards), Gateshead.
• Yorkshire: Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield, Hull.
• Midlands: Birmingham (selected wards), Nottingham (city-wide), Leicester, Derby.
• South: Brighton & Hove, Portsmouth, Southampton, Bristol, Plymouth (selected wards).
• Wales: Note that Wales operates a separate all-landlord registration regime under Rent Smart Wales, which is different from English selective licensing.

This list changes constantly. The only reliable check is your own council’s website. Search “[council name] selective licensing” or go to the Private Rented Sector team page.

Typical licence conditions

Every selective licence carries conditions. If you breach a condition the council can revoke the licence or issue a civil penalty; persistent breach can trigger a banning order under the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

Common standard conditions across England in 2026:

• Gas Safety Certificate valid and copy held on file for the council to inspect on request
• EICR valid and copy held
• EPC current, band E or better (band C by 2030 under current policy)
• Smoke alarm on every storey containing living accommodation
• Carbon monoxide alarm in every room with a fixed combustion appliance (except a gas cooker)
• Tenancy agreement in writing
• Deposit protected in an approved scheme within 30 days
• Right to Rent checks completed and documented
• Written complaints procedure provided to tenants
• 24-hour emergency contact provided to tenants
• Property condition maintained to avoid HHSRS Category 1 hazards
• Gas safety records (every 12 months) and EICRs (every 5 years) provided to the council on request

Some councils add scheme-specific conditions: waste management (bin storage standards), anti-social behaviour reporting and enforcement duties, minimum room sizes beyond HMO statutory minimums, noise insulation between flats.

Read your council’s licence conditions document in full. Many landlords sign the application without reading and are surprised by a bin enforcement notice 6 months later.

Fees and term

Selective licence fees are set by each council to recover its costs, and they vary widely. The licence fees by council page collects the figures councils publish; check the council’s own fee schedule before you apply.

Many councils offer discounts for:

• Landlord accreditation (LLAS, NRLA, Rent Smart Wales, UKLAP)
• Early-bird application (within 60 days of scheme commencement)
• Multiple properties in the same scheme (volume discount)

Many councils split the fee into two parts: one at application (non-refundable even if refused) and the balance on grant of the licence. A licence lasts up to 5 years, and never beyond the end of the scheme. Renewal requires a fresh application and fee at scheme re-designation.

Tax treatment: The licence fee is revenue expenditure deductible against rental income (confirm with your accountant).

How to check your property

Three steps:

Step 1: Identify your council. Go to gov.uk/find-local-council and enter the property postcode. Record the council name exactly.

Step 2: Check the council’s licensing page. Search the council website for “selective licensing”. Look for: (a) current designation map, (b) ward list covered, (c) scheme dates (start and end), (d) conditions document, (e) fee schedule.

Step 3: Cross-check HMO. Even if selective licensing doesn’t apply, check mandatory and additional HMO licensing. A 3-bed property shared by 3 friends (no family relationship) is an HMO under the “standard test” of the Housing Act 2004.

Set a calendar reminder for 3 years after the scheme was designated, and check again then. Schemes are commonly renewed, and the ward boundaries sometimes expand at renewal.

Penalties for unlicensed letting

The enforcement stack is deep:

1. Prosecution or civil penalty

A council can prosecute under section 95 Housing Act 2004 (unlimited fine on conviction in the Magistrates’ Court or Crown Court) or issue a civil penalty notice up to £40,000 per offence for conduct from 1 May 2026 (£30,000 before that).

Civil penalties are the default for first offences. The penalty is calculated on a matrix (deliberate/negligent, actual harm caused, landlord’s means).

2. Rent Repayment Order

Under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, a tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for a Rent Repayment Order (RRO) covering up to two years of rent paid for offences from 1 May 2026 (12 months before that). At £1,500 pcm, a year of rent is £18,000 paid directly back to the tenant. Tenants and councils can both apply.

3. Banning Order

For serious or repeat offences, a council can apply to the tribunal for a banning order under the 2016 Act, prohibiting the person from letting housing for a minimum of 6 months, with no fixed maximum.

4. Compliance notices

A temporary exemption notice is for landlords taking steps so the house no longer needs a licence (for example, selling it or ending the letting); you ask the council for one. It is not a holding position while you apply: a properly made licence application is itself a defence. The council can also revoke a licence if conditions are breached. Revocation typically requires the landlord to apply for a fresh licence and can trigger a re-inspection fee.

5. Block on possession

Pre-RRA 2025, unlicensed operation blocked valid Section 21 notices. Post-abolition, unlicensed operation remains an aggravating factor in Section 8 proceedings.

If you discover you’ve been letting unlicensed

Apply immediately. The sooner you apply, the more weight the council gives to your cooperation as mitigation. Expect:

• Fee: full 5-year fee (no pro-rata)
• Inspection: likely within 4–8 weeks
• Civil penalty: possible, but engaging early, before a complaint, can help

Do not try to end the tenancy to “start fresh”: it makes the situation worse. Get advice from a housing solicitor before acting.

Document everything. Keep your application, correspondence with the council, and a file note of the date you first identified the issue. If you’re hit with a civil penalty, your best defence is a clean paper trail.

How LetCompliance handles licensing

Licensing is one of the first questions when you let a property, so LetCompliance keeps the answer on the property record. You note the scheme type (selective, additional HMO or mandatory HMO), the licence number and the expiry date, and store the licence and its conditions document with the gas safety record and the EICR. The renewal reminder starts 90 days before the licence expires.

Check licensing for your postcode before you let, and record the answer against the property.

Get started, and have the licence dates sitting next to the tenancy and the rent from the first day of the let.

Related reading

• HMO compliance guide UK 2026: mandatory and additional HMO licensing
• UK landlord fines 2026: full penalty list across every regime
• UK landlord compliance 2026: the full compliance stack
• London landlord compliance pillar: London-specific licensing detail