Selective licensing in Liverpool. Who needs one now, and what changes in April 2027.

Guide by Damion Robinson MCIOB MCIEH. Law and figures checked 01/10/2026. This is general information, not legal advice about your case.

The current scheme

Liverpool City Council’s selective licensing designation started on 1 April 2022 and runs until 31 March 2027. It covers 16 wards on the 2022 boundaries, which the council estimated at around 80% of the city’s private rented homes. Ward boundaries were redrawn in 2023, so the council directs landlords to its postcode lookup rather than a ward list. If your property is inside the area and let to tenants, it needs a licence unless it already holds an HMO licence or falls within an exemption.

Fees are paid in two parts, an administration charge on application and a second payment before the licence is granted. Discounts exist for accredited landlords and for properties new to the market that apply early, and the council keeps the discretion to refuse them. Applications go through the council’s online licensing portal and every one is keyed in by hand, so the documents have to be right before you start.

What’s coming

The council is consulting on what replaces the scheme when it expires. The consultation closes on 5 October 2026 and puts three options on the table from April 2027. A city-wide scheme covering all 64 wards, a scheme for 29 wards chosen on deprivation, and one for 26 wards chosen on property conditions. The proposed fee is £995 against £704 now, with a discount for renewals, new properties and early applications. If the city-wide option goes ahead, every privately rented home in Liverpool that isn’t a licensed HMO will need a selective licence. Landlords with properties outside the current 16 wards should plan for it now rather than wait for the letter.

Licence conditions

A licence comes with conditions. The mandatory ones cover gas safety certificates, electrical installation condition reports, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, references for tenants and a written tenancy agreement. Liverpool adds its own on property management, waste, anti-social behaviour and the licence holder having a UK address for service. Breaching a condition is an offence in its own right and the usual trigger for a civil penalty.

Letting without a licence

Section 95 of the Housing Act 2004. The offence is committed by the person in control of or managing the property, which can be the landlord and the agent. The council can prosecute or impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000. Tenants and the council can apply for a rent repayment order, now up to 24 months’ rent for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026 and 12 months for earlier ones. A conviction for the offence can also lead to a banning order.

The defence that matters most is having a valid application in. Once a complete application has been duly made and is still being processed, that’s a defence to the section 95 offence for as long as it stays in. That’s why getting the application in properly, with every document attached, is the whole game.

Related guides

• HMO licensing. Mandatory licences, room sizes, the management regulations and Article 4.
• Civil penalties. What a notice of intent means and how the 28 days work.
• Rent repayment orders. Now up to 24 months, and what a landlord can do about one.

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