Selective licensing

A local council power to require a licence for every privately rented home in a designated area — and one of the clearest routes to a rent repayment order when a landlord ignores it.

How is selective licensing different from HMO licensing?

HMO licensing turns on how a property is occupied — shared houses with several unrelated households, and, for mandatory licensing, five or more occupiers forming two or more households. Selective licensing turns on where the property is. If a home sits inside a designated selective licensing area and is privately rented, it generally needs a licence even if a single family lives there.

How do I find out whether my home is in a designated area?

The local council publishes its designations, usually on the housing or private rented sector pages of its website, with a map or a list of streets and postcodes. Councils also keep a public register of licensed properties under section 232 of the Housing Act 2004, which lets you check whether a specific address holds a licence. If the register is not easy to find, a written request to the council's private sector housing team is the reliable route.

What happens if my landlord has not licensed the property?

Operating a licensable property without a licence is a criminal offence under section 95 of the Housing Act 2004. The council can prosecute or impose a civil penalty as an alternative, and the maximum civil penalty was raised to £40,000 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Separately, a tenant may be able to apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order covering rent paid during the unlicensed period.

How far back can a rent repayment order go?

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 extended the maximum period a rent repayment order can cover to 24 months of rent paid while the offence was being committed, up from 12 months. The tribunal decides the actual amount, taking account of the landlord's conduct, their financial circumstances, and whether they have been convicted of a relevant offence. It is a maximum, not an entitlement.

Can a landlord serve a possession notice on an unlicensed property?

Section 21 no longer exists, so the old restriction linking licensing to no-fault notices has fallen away with it. What remains is that licensing breaches expose a landlord to civil penalties, prosecution and rent repayment orders, and a landlord's compliance history can be relevant when a court considers whether it is reasonable to make an order on a discretionary ground for possession.

Does a licence mean the property is in good condition?

Not necessarily. A licence confirms the landlord or manager has been assessed as a fit and proper person and has agreed to the licence conditions, which typically cover management standards, gas and electrical safety, and sometimes anti-social behaviour measures. It is not a condition survey. Disrepair, damp and mould, and hazards remain matters for the council's enforcement powers and for the tenant's own remedies.

Renters' Rights · Glossary

A local council power to require a licence for every privately rented home in a designated area — and one of the clearest routes to a rent repayment order when a landlord ignores it.

Last reviewed: August 2026

Renters' Rights track

is a scheme under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 under which a local housing authority designates an area where most privately rented homes must be licensed, whatever their size or occupancy.

Where this comes from

Housing Act 2004, Part 3

— the selective licensing regime and the offence of operating unlicensed.

Renters' Rights Act 2025

— extends who can be penalised and raises maximum civil penalties.

Selective licensing guide

— the government guide for local authorities.

Specified Exemptions Order 2006

— which tenancies fall outside selective licensing.

What a designation is and how it happens

Selective licensing is a geographic power. A local housing authority can designate the whole or any part of its area as subject to selective licensing, and once a designation is in force most privately rented homes inside it require a licence — regardless of size, number of occupiers, or whether the property would otherwise be an

Councils cannot designate on a whim. Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 requires the area to meet statutory conditions, which have been broadened over time and now include low housing demand, significant anti-social behaviour, poor property conditions, high levels of migration, high levels of deprivation, and high levels of crime. The council must consult, must consider whether other measures would work, and the designation must be confirmed by the Secretary of State unless it falls within a general approval.

Designations run for a maximum of five years and then lapse unless renewed. That matters when you are checking whether a property needed a licence at a particular time — the question is not only whether the address is in a scheme now, but whether it was during the period you are asking about.

What licensing requires

• The landlord or manager applies to the council, pays the licence fee, and provides details of the property, the tenancies and the safety certificates.
• Fit and proper person test.
• The council assesses the proposed licence holder, taking account of relevant convictions, previous enforcement action and housing law breaches.
• Licences carry mandatory conditions — gas safety certificates, electrical safety, smoke alarms, tenancy documentation — and the council can add discretionary conditions on management standards.
• Licensed properties appear on the register the council must keep under section 232, which anyone can inspect.
• Operating unlicensed, or breaching licence conditions, is a criminal offence. The council can prosecute or impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000 as an alternative.
• Where the offence is made out, a tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a
• of up to 24 months of rent paid during the offence period.

How a licensing breach becomes a tenant remedy

A couple rent a two-bedroom flat at £1,050 a month. The street falls inside a selective licensing designation that came into force in September 2024 and runs to 2029. They discover, when a neighbour mentions it, that the council's public register has no entry for their address, and a written enquiry confirms no application was ever made.

Unlicensed months claimed

Rent paid in that period

Statutory maximum period

at the tribunal's discretion

They apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for a rent repayment order covering the period they occupied the flat while it was unlicensed, supported by the register search, their tenancy agreement, bank statements showing rent paid, and the council's confirmation.

Why the register search is the first move

Almost every selective licensing dispute turns on a documentary question: was the property licensed, and if not, for how long. Both halves are answerable from public records. Section 232 of the Housing Act 2004 requires councils to keep a register of licences granted, and the designation itself will be published with its start date and its expiry.

That combination is what makes a rent repayment order application realistic for a self-represented tenant. Unlike a disrepair claim, which turns on expert evidence about condition, an unlicensed-property application rests on the register, the designation, the tenancy agreement and proof of rent paid. Those are documents a tenant already has or can obtain by asking.

The tribunal still has to be satisfied the offence was committed, and a landlord may raise a defence — that a valid application had been made and was pending, that the property fell within an exemption under the 2006 Order, or that they had a reasonable excuse. But the starting point is straightforward, and it is worth checking even where the tenancy has already ended: applications are subject to a time limit running from the offence, not from when you found out about it.

One thing worth being clear about: a rent repayment order is discretionary in amount. The tribunal considers the landlord's conduct, their financial circumstances, and any relevant convictions, and awards what it considers appropriate up to the statutory maximum. It is not automatic and the maximum is not the norm.

• Assuming selective licensing applies everywhere.
• It only bites inside a designated area, and designations are specific, time-limited and often cover only part of a borough.
• Confusing selective licensing with HMO licensing.
• Different triggers, different rules, different exemptions. A property can need one, both, or neither.
• Not checking the designation dates.
• A property unlicensed today may have been outside any scheme for part of your tenancy, which changes the period a claim can cover.
• Leaving it too long.
• Applications to the tribunal are time-limited by reference to when the offence was committed. Waiting until the tenancy ends can shorten what you can recover.
• Treating a licence as a quality guarantee.
• It is a management and safety standard, not a survey. Disrepair and hazards are separate issues with separate remedies.
• Overlooking the exemptions.
• Certain tenancies are outside the regime under the Specified Exemptions Order 2006. Check before assuming an offence has been committed.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

• Housing Act 2004, Part 3 — selective licensing
• (legislation.gov.uk)
• Selective Licensing of Houses (Specified Exemptions) (England) Order 2006
• Renters' Rights Act 2025
• Selective licensing in the private rented sector
• Civil penalties under the Renters' Rights Act 2025

Think your rental should have been licensed?

Start My Claim helps renters gather the evidence and build a rent repayment order application.

Last reviewed: August 2026.

References checked against Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, in force on 17 August 2026.

This page is explanatory only and is not legal advice. Start My Claim is self-service software, not a law firm — its tools help you build and run your own case.