Selective licensing in Charnwood

What the designation says

Charnwood Borough Council operates a selective licensing scheme covering privately rented properties in the Lemyngton and Hastings wards of Loughborough, introduced in 2023. Every privately rented property in those two wards needs a licence, whatever its size or the number of occupants. Council properties, registered providers and other regulated bodies are exempt. A property needs either an HMO licence or a selective licence, not both. The council publishes a searchable public register of licensed properties. WARD BOUNDARIES HAVE CHANGED SINCE DESIGNATION. Charnwood's own scheme conditions describe the designated area as "the former Hastings and Lemyngton wards in the borough of Charnwood". A designation fixes its area at the moment it is made; a later boundary review does not move it. So a landlord who checks a CURRENT Charnwood ward map may conclude their property is outside the scheme when the designation still covers it, or inside when it does not. Confirm the specific address against the designation map Charnwood published with the scheme, not against today's ward names.

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.

Charnwood's own licensing page →