Selective licensing in Croydon

What the designation says

Croydon Council designated a new selective licensing scheme on 25 March 2026. It comes into force on 1 September 2026 and runs for five years. It covers privately rented properties let to a single household in 14 of the borough's 28 wards, around 72.5% of the local private rented sector. A licence must be held before the property is let from that date. Check whether a specific address falls within a designated ward on the council's page before applying. SOURCE CONFLICT — WE FOLLOW THE INSTRUMENT. Croydon's designation notice under section 80 of the Housing Act 2004 states at paragraph 5 that the designation "is made on 25 March 2026 and will come into force on 1st September 2026", and at paragraph 6 that it ceases on 1 September 2031. Croydon's own website states 25 September 2026 on two separate landlord pages. The council contradicts its own instrument. We publish the instrument date, 1 September 2026, because a designation takes effect on the date the notice specifies and not on the date a summary page repeats. A landlord should hold a licence by 1 September 2026 to be compliant under either reading — the earlier date is the safe one, and being licensed early carries no penalty while being licensed late carries a civil penalty of up to £30,000, a rent repayment order and the loss of section 21.

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.

Croydon's own licensing page →