Selective licensing Leicester: who needs a licence and what it costs

Landlord licence Leicester at a glance

Sources: Leicester City Council pages listed under Sources, checked 21 October 2026.

How big is the private rented sector in Leicester?

At the 2021 Census, 37,437 of Leicester's 127,389 households rented privately. That's 29.4% of households, well above the 20.3% average across England and Wales. By number of privately renting households, Leicester ranked 22 of the 331 local authorities in England and Wales; by share it ranked 27. For comparison, 59,430 households (46.7%) owned their home and 29,495 (23.2%) rented socially.

Selective licensing in Leicester

Leicester's scheme was introduced in October 2022 to improve rented housing in areas badly affected by poor conditions, and the council says it will be reviewed in October 2027. It covers parts of Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields, Fosse, Westcotes, Stoneygate and Saffron, not the whole of each ward, so use the council's map for the exact boundary.

Inside the area the licence applies to all rented properties, including small HMOs: properties let to 2 or more households with up to 4 people sharing. That's how Leicester covers smaller shared houses without a separate additional scheme. Licence holders are responsible for gas and electrical certification, fire safety (including a fire risk assessment), repairs, management, tenancy agreements and anti-social behaviour. The council also requires fire detection and alarm systems to be interlinked and mains-connected.

Applying for a Leicester selective licence

The council will only issue a licence once it's satisfied that the proposed holder is the most appropriate person, the property is competently managed, and it's free from Category 1 hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. You need a fit and proper person declaration dated within the last 3 months. If you'd like help, the council offers assisted application sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10am and 2.45pm; email selectivelicensing@leicester.gov.uk to book.

HMO licensing in Leicester

Outside the selective areas, only HMOs with 5 or more people from 2 or more households need a licence, under the national mandatory scheme. Leicester doesn't operate additional HMO licensing, so a 3 or 4 person shared house outside the selective area doesn't need a licence, though HMO management regulations still apply.

Leicester landlord licence fees

Selective licence: £1,290, with £1,032 paid on application and £258 when the licence is issued. The first payment covers validation, background checks, the fit and proper assessment, a full inspection, advice on fixing compliance issues and drafting the licence. The second covers issuing the final licence, maintaining the public register and compliance checks. You may be eligible for a discount if you apply within 6 months of buying a property in the licensing area. Refunds are only given if the property doesn't need a licence or you've made a duplicate application.

Mandatory HMO licence: £900 (£655 on application, £245 enforcement), according to the council's regulatory fees and charges schedule.

Councils usually split a licence fee into two parts: one paid when you apply, covering processing, and one paid before the licence is granted, covering running and enforcing the scheme. Where the council publishes the split, we show it above. Fees are reviewed regularly, so treat these as correct on the date we checked and confirm on the council's fee page before you pay.

Do I need a landlord licence in Leicester? A quick check

1. Check the address against the council's selective licensing map.
2. If 5 or more people from 2 or more households share facilities, you need a mandatory HMO licence wherever the property is.
3. If it's inside the selective area and has up to 4 occupants, including a small shared house, you need a selective licence.
4. If it's outside the selective area and has fewer than 5 occupants, no property licence is needed.
5. Bought recently? Apply within 6 months of purchase to check whether you qualify for the discount.

People also ask about landlord licensing in Leicester

Do I need a landlord licence in Leicester? Only if the property is in the selective licensing area, or it's an HMO with 5 or more people.

Which areas of Leicester have selective licensing? Parts of Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields, Fosse, Westcotes, Stoneygate and Saffron.

How much is a Leicester selective licence? £1,290: £1,032 on application and £258 when issued.

What every Leicester landlord must do, licence or not

Licensing sits on top of the duties every landlord in England already has. Whether or not your Leicester property needs a licence, you still need to:

• have every gas appliance, flue and pipework checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer every 12 months, and give tenants a copy of the record;
• have the electrical installation inspected and tested at least every 5 years, and give tenants the report;
• hold a valid EPC rated E or above before you let, unless the property is exempt;
• protect any deposit in a government-approved scheme within 30 days and give the prescribed information;
• fit a smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance (gas cookers excepted);
• carry out Right to Rent checks before a tenancy starts.

A council considering a licence application, or inspecting a licensed property, will usually ask to see evidence of the first four.

What happens if you let without the right licence in Leicester?

Letting a property that needs a licence without one is a criminal offence. Since 1 May 2026, councils can issue civil penalties of up to £40,000 per offence as an alternative to prosecution, and tenants can apply for a rent repayment order covering up to 24 months' rent; several councils, including Westminster, Brighton & Hove and Islington, now state these limits on their own pages. Prosecution can lead to an unlimited fine. The practical point: once a valid application is in, you're treated as having applied, so apply as soon as you know a licence is needed.

Keeping to your licence conditions

A licence normally lasts up to 5 years, and councils attach conditions to it: typically that you send an updated gas safety certificate when asked, keep smoke alarms working, provide electrical safety certificates, and deal with repairs properly. Keeping on top of those conditions is mostly a matter of records.

That's the part Gaffy helps with. Each property gets a vault where you store the gas safety certificate, EICR and EPC with their expiry dates, and Gaffy flags anything expired or expiring soon, so the certificate a licence condition asks for doesn't lapse. Tenants report repairs through a link in their phone's browser, with photos, which gives you a dated repair history if the council asks. Gaffy is £12 a month for up to 5 properties, plus £4 a month for each extra property, and the first month is free. We don't apply for licences on your behalf.