New research from Direct Line reveals thousands of landlords in England are facing increasing costs due to selective licensing schemes imposed by local councils.
Councils are charging landlords almost £700 on average (£699.92) for obligatory selective licenses, but there is a huge variation across England. Lightning Protector
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.
Councils with the highest costs for selective licenses
Cost of a Selective License
Newcastle upon Tyne City Council
Oadby & Wigston District Council
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
Total revenue from Selective Licensing scheme (April 2023-April 2024)
Newcastle upon Tyne City Council
London Borough of Waltham Forest
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.
Tags: Government Advice, Landlord Services, Legal & Compliance
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