Selective licensing: how to find out if your postcode is in a scheme

Licensing is the one statutory duty on your list that depends entirely on where the property is. Gas, electrics, deposits and the Information Sheet work the same way in Carlisle as in Croydon. Whether your ordinary two-bed flat needs a council licence depends on which side of a ward boundary it sits - and on a designation your council may have made while you weren't looking.

Three different schemes, often confused

• Mandatory HMO licensing - nationwide, no council discretion. Five or more occupiers forming two or more households and sharing a kitchen, bathroom or toilet.
• Additional HMO licensing - a council extending licensing to smaller shared houses, typically three or four occupiers. Some cities apply this to the whole area, others to a few wards.
• Selective licensing - the one that catches ordinary family lets. Every privately rented property in the designated area needs a licence, HMO or not.

Why these appear without you hearing about it

Since a new General Approval took effect on 23 December 2024, councils in England no longer need the Secretary of State's confirmation before implementing a selective licensing scheme of any size - previously required for larger designations. They must still meet the statutory criteria and are expected to consult for at least ten weeks, but the practical effect is that schemes can be designated faster and bigger than before. Consultations are published on council websites and in local notices, which is exactly where a landlord living two counties away never looks.

How to actually check, in about ten minutes

• Search your council's site for 'property licensing' and read the designation, not the summary page - designations list wards or streets, and summaries round them off.
• Check the exact address against the map or street list. Neighbouring streets are routinely in and out of the same scheme.
• Note the scheme's start and end dates. Designations usually run five years, and renewal is a fresh decision that can change the boundary.
• Check whether an additional HMO scheme also applies - a property can need a licence under one scheme and not the other.
• If in doubt, email the council's licensing team with the full address and keep the reply. A dated answer from the council is the best evidence you can have.

What it costs to be wrong

Letting or managing an unlicensed property that requires a licence is a criminal offence. Councils can issue a civil penalty of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution, and tenants - or the council, for rent paid through Universal Credit - can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order, now worth up to two years' rent. On an £1,100-a-month let, that's £26,400 on top of any penalty. Ignorance of a designation is not a defence.

Sources: Housing Act 2004, Parts 2 and 3 · MHCLG 'Selective licensing in the private rented sector: a guide for local authorities' and the General Approval 2024 (in force 23 December 2024) · Renters' Rights Act 2025 (rent repayment orders). Licensing schemes change frequently - always confirm the current position with the council before relying on it. General information, not legal advice, as at August 2026.