Selective licensing in Birmingham

What the designation says

Birmingham operates a selective licensing scheme covering 25 of the city's 69 wards. The designation came into force on 5 June 2023 and runs for five years. Within a designated ward every privately rented home needs a licence regardless of how many people occupy it, so an ordinary flat or a house let to a single household is caught as well as shared housing. Because only 25 of 69 wards are covered, the ward is decisive: the council publishes an address checker so a landlord can confirm whether a specific property falls inside the designation rather than assuming from the postcode. The fee is £700 per property. Letting an unlicensed property inside a designated ward is a criminal offence carrying a civil penalty of up to £30,000 or prosecution, and exposes the landlord to a rent repayment order.

What this means for a landlord

A licence must be in place before the property is let, not applied for afterwards. Operating unlicensed in a designated area is a criminal offence: a civil penalty of up to £30,000 per offence, a rent repayment order of up to twelve months' rent, and a section 21 notice that cannot be served while the property is unlicensed. Mandatory HMO licensing applies separately and everywhere, wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households.

Birmingham's own licensing page →