New research from Direct Line reveals thousands of landlords in England are facing increasing costs due to selective licensing schemes imposed by local councils.
Forty-seven English councils, out of the 245 that responded to Direct Line’s Freedom of Information (FOI) request, currently have a selective licencing scheme in place. This is an increase of almost 10% from those who reported having a scheme in place in 2022. Councils including Peterborough, Merton, Charnwood Borough and Birmingham, have introduced these schemes within the last two years.
Councils are charging landlords almost £700 on average (£699.92) for obligatory selective licenses, but there is a huge variation across England.
The local authorities charging the most included Leicester (£1,290), Newcastle (£900), and Greenwich (£858), whilst Ashfield District Council (£350), East Staffordshire Borough Council (£507), and North Yorkshire Council (£550) charge the least.
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Councils with the highest costs for selective licenses
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Council
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Cost of a Selective License
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Leicester City Council
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£1,290
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Newcastle upon Tyne City Council
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£900
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London Borough of Greenwich
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£858
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Oadby & Wigston District Council
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£840
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Middlesbrough Borough Council
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£823
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Southend-on-Sea Council
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£808
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London Borough of Islington
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£800
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Bristol City Council
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£799
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London Borough of Newham
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£750
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London Borough of Enfield
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£735
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Source: Direct Line 2024
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In 2023, English councils generated over £20m from selective licensing schemes.
Liverpool alone - where the former Conservative government installed commissioners to run some services as a result of council failings - raised over £5m of this total, accounting for a quarter of the UK’s licensing revenue.
Landlords failing to comply with licensing requirements face significant penalties. Burnley council, for example, issued fines up to £10,000.
Last year, councils in England raised £2.5 million by fining landlords, almost double the previous year's income of £1.4 million. Waltham Forest (170), Middlesborough (128) recorded the highest number of licensing offences in 2023 and are also leading in 2024 so far.
Councils generating the highest amount of revenue from selective licensing schemes
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Council
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Total revenue from Selective Licensing scheme (April 2023-April 2024)
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Liverpool City Council
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£5,805,074.36
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London Borough of Enfield
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£4,507,381.00
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Nottingham City Council
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£3,319,471.00
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Leicester City Council
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£2,325,734.30
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Peterborough City Council
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£1,579,217.00
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Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
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£743,859.67
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Charnwood Borough Council
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£723,480.00
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Newcastle upon Tyne City Council
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£479,535.00
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London Borough of Waltham Forest
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£447,242.00
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London Borough of Islington
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£353,962.00
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London Borough of Greenwich
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£301,447.54
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Some councils have had a selective licence scheme in the past and have since closed the schemes down. Since 2020, seven of the councils Direct Line contacted, including as Hartlepool, Sheffield, and Coventry, have closed their schemes down, citing increased standards in the market.
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