Don't Be Like Rachel Reeves

Licensing is different council to council. Licensing regimes are also always changing. In Rachel's case, Southwark expanded their Selective Licence regime in 2023. She would have received a letter from the council. And her agent should have been aware of it. But with so many changes happening, it is very easy to miss.

Technically, there is no such thing as a landlord licence. Instead, there is either a selective licence or an HMO licence. Selective licensing applies to properties rented to a single family OR 1-2 people who are not related to each other (e.g. friends). HMO licensing applies to houses in mulitple occupation, when you have 3 or more people living at a property from 2 or more households.

This depends on where your property is located, how many people live at the property and how those people are related to each other. We will confirm this with the free check.

It is a legal requirement to obtain a selective licence for a property within a designated licensing area. Failure to apply for a licence can result in serious consequences, including: fines up to £30,000; prosecution; having tenants claim up to 12 months of rent back; and being put on the Rogue Tenant list.

By staying up to date about your local regulations. But we can do that for you. We first check if you need a licence right now. If you don't, we monitor the market for you and if the licensing requirements change, we notify you. This is done for free!

The licence holder should be the person who 'manages' the property. It's usually the person who collects rent from residents. If that's your lettings / management agent, then it's OK to have them act as the licence holder. But be carefull, since just like in Rachel's case, the responsibility for having your property licensed lies with you! Not your agent.

If you live in the property as your main home and rent out a room to a lodger who shares facilities with you (such as the kitchen or bathroom), you would not normally need a selective licence. If part of your home is let as a separate self-contained unit (with its own facilities and tenancy agreement), this will usually fall within the scope of licensing, even if you live in another part of the property. If you have three or more lodgers living with you, the property may be classed as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO). In that case, you may need an HMO licence.