The selective licensing oversight that landed a landlord in hot water
The landlord was confident they were compliant. Gas and electrical checks were up to date, deposits protected, and tenancy agreements in order. What they missed was that their local council had introduced a selective licensing scheme covering all rented properties in the area. When the omission was discovered, the council issued a civil penalty notice of £12,000. The licence would have cost less than £1,000.
Selective licensing schemes allow councils to require landlords in designated areas to obtain a licence before letting property, even if the property is not a large HMO. Rules vary from council to council, and schemes are often introduced with limited publicity. Failing to obtain a licence can result in fines of up to £30,000, Rent Repayment Orders, and restrictions on regaining possession. In this landlord’s case, the oversight was not malicious, but ignorance was no defence.
The lesson is that landlords cannot assume compliance is the same across the country. Always check your local council’s website for licensing requirements and register for updates. Schemes can expand or be renewed without much warning, and staying informed is far cheaper than paying the penalty for missing them.
What do you think?
Has your council introduced selective licensing? Did you find out easily, or did you only learn when enforcement letters started arriving?
Source: Gov.uk landlord licensing guidance
Previous articles in this series
Landlord Lessons: The AST date mistake
Landlord Lessons: The missing inventory
Landlord Lessons: The verbal agreement trap
Landlord Lessons: The gas safety lapse
Landlord Lessons: The unprotected deposit
Landlord Lessons: The unlicensed HMO
Landlord Lessons: The electrical safety lapse
Landlord Lessons: The Right to Rent slip
Landlord Lessons: The ignored repair
Landlord Lessons: The insurance blindspot
Landlord Lessons: The rent-to-rent risk
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Rent in advance and last month's rent?
Member Since August 2018 - Comments: 158
11:57 AM, 17th November 2025, About 5 months ago
What I find so infuriating about this type of story is the fact that the Council introduces a licensing scheme and assumes that all landlords will be fully aware. Why should they be? Putting a page on the Council’s website isn’t the same as writing to the landlord and in my opinion, doesn’t constitute consultation. Councils cannot assume that the public will read their notices either on social media of the local paper – if there is one.
So how does the Council communicate its message? Well, that is a very good question! The landlord might well live outside the immediate area so will not see local news. I haven’t got an answer but some out there might have.
Member Since October 2019 - Comments: 400
12:12 PM, 17th November 2025, About 5 months ago
Reply to Martin. All very true. I haven’t seen any publicity whatsoever. I take a look at the council site regularly. But there’s two sides to every story – if council published then there wouldn’t be as income from nice juicy fines!