Frequently Asked Questions
What is Selective licensing?
Selective licensing is a regulatory scheme used by local authorities to manage privately rented properties within designated areas. The goal is to ensure properties meet specific standards, promote good landlord practices, and improve living conditions for tenants.
Does Selective Licensing work?
Between 2020 and 2025, over 2,100 properties were inspected, leading to the identification and removal of more than 7,800 hazards through agreements or enforcement. In the 2015 –20 scheme inspection failure rates were over 95% in some areas. The current failure has been between 83% to under 50% in Maltby. Maltby’s private rented sector has shown sustained improvement over two periods of selective licensing. Both the reduced severity and number of hazards recorded during the current scheme have allowed the Council to remove it from future proposals.
What does the Council want to achieve?
Without Selective Licensing, the Council can only address housing issues when residents complain, which may not happen in areas where people fear retaliation from landlords. Council aims to proactively ensure that private rented housing meets legal standards, and that landlords properly manage their properties. This supports broader Council goals to improve housing, reduce homelessness, and foster thriving neighbourhoods. The aim is to create a sustainable housing market in the area and withdraw from Selective Licensing.
Why have existing Selective Licensing areas been proposed for further declarations?
Although some areas have had two periods of selective licensing the areas still face significant issues, high levels of housing disrepair, crime, anti-social behaviour, and social or environmental issues. These areas also still have the highest rates of private rented housing. Future Selective Licensing will deliver more focused enforcement and support to build on the achievements of previous schemes. A significant amount of work has been undertaken in all areas, but where landlords and tenants fail to take responsibility for proactive management of their lets / homes, formal interventions like Selective Licensing remain necessary.
The new proposed boundaries reflect reported issues in 2025. A full map of these areas can be found in the 'your consultation' section of the webpage and details of the statistic on which the boundaries have been proposed are in the appendix to the September Cabinet paper. A link to this cabinet paper is on the webpage.
The data talks about Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA’s), what is a LSOA?
Lower Super Output Areas are small geographical areas used for statistical purposes in the UK. They are designed to provide detailed and reliable data on various social, economic, and environmental factors at a local level. Each LSOA typically contains a population of around 1,000 to 3,000 people and is smaller than a district or ward. These areas help with analysing and comparing local conditions, and are commonly used in research, planning, and policy development.
What is an Area Plan?
Each proposed area has its own problems and priorities. These are addressed in its Area Plan. This document will be informed by the consultation process and be published and updated during any declaration to allow residents to monitor the progress being made.
How much is the license fees?
The proposed standard licence fee is £995 which includes a £210 admin fee and £785 maintenance fee. A 5% discount off the maintenance fee is available to all applicants who provide a fully completed application form with all supporting documentation within 90 days of the property becoming licensable. 35% discount for properties which received rebate in current scheme, further discounts for larger portfolios. For more details, please visit the ‘proposed licence fees’ section of the webpage.
Why has the license fee increased since the last scheme?
The licence fee in 2015 was £595, this dropped to £521 in 2020, due to national inflation and specifically increases in staffing costs and the fee has had to be increased significantly for the 2025 scheme. The fee covers the 5 years of the proposed scheme is the equivalent less than 2 months' rent (< 2/60). The fee is above rent inflation but is calculated to deliver the objectives in the Area Plan for each area. The fee equates to 39p a day with full discounts and 52p a day for standard licence over the 5 years of the proposed scheme.
License fees are invested directly back into the declared areas to enable council to carry out proactive inspections, works and initiatives to deliver improvements in the declared objective of the declaration.
What happens if I pay the fee late?
Operating a rented property in a selective licensing area without a licence is an offence. The Council allows a 90-day amnesty in which to apply for a licence after your property becomes licensable. After 90 days the council will incur additional costs in identifying unlicensed properties and tracing owners. This additional cost will be passed on to those operating illegally when they submit their application. The council also reserves the right to take further enforcement actions against unlicensed those who fail to licence. An additional administrative fee of £136 will be charged to cover the additional work required to identify unlicensed properties. This will bring the total administrative fee to £346, and the total licence fee to £1,131.00.
Free services
Minor changes to license holder details e.g. address details, or requests to surrender a licence, if provided electronically will be free of charge. Please note, failure to provide information regarding changes affecting the licence within a calendar month will forfeit entitlement to any available pro rata refund of the maintenance element of the license fee.
How can the council support local landlords and tenants
Some proposed 'Area Plans' include enhanced tenancy support and focused crime reduction strategies. The Council is offering a reduced license fee to landlords who demonstrated good housing standards, with rebates for those who participated in the previous scheme. The Council is also collaborating with the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) to promote membership, training, and initiatives that help landlords manage properties professionally. Landlords and tenants can work directly with their Neighbourhood team to address ASB or disputes regarding tenancies. This scheme encourages a strength-based approach which mean residents with current or proposed projects to support their area can request support. Through the NRLA Landlords' forums will continue to be offered where landlords wish to support them.
How can residents help to improve their area?
Have conversations with your Neighbourhood team about what you feel would benefit the community and how that might happen. There is a question on the online consultation feedback form which allows you to start that conversation by leaving your contact details.
Why should I respond to the consultation?
Without local people becoming involved, it is difficult to deliver sustainable improvement. This is your opportunity to influence if the scheme goes ahead and if so, to shape what the next period of selective licensing looks like.
Alternatives to Selective Licensing
The Council has considered the alternatives available to it, to address issues in the proposed areas, prior to it proposing selective licensing as a solution. However, anyone can offer an alternative proposal during consultation. The alternative must offer a realistic chance of delivering the objectives described in the Area Plans and be able to offer confidence that sustainable change can be delivered. The Council will seriously consider any alternative proposal presented during the consultation.