Your licensing update for May

In our licensing blog this month, we round up all the latest licensing consultations and share details on how to respond to them, as well as outlining new schemes coming into force across the country.

Active consultations:

Medway Council - Selective and Additional Licensing  

The council is consulting on plans to introduce selective and additional licensing schemes. The proposed selective licensing fee is £840 and £1,600 for additional licensing.

Discounts will be available for accredited landlords, those applying to license a number of properties and for registered charities.

The consultation closes on 31^st May. Further information about the consultation and details on how to respond can be found on the council’s website, by emailing  [email protected] or by calling  01634 331200.

Gloucester City Council - Additional Licensing

The council is consulting on plans to introduce a city-wide additional licensing scheme. The proposed licence fee is £1,260, with the consultation closing on 11^th May.

Further information about the proposals and how to respond to them can be found on the council’s website or by emailing  [email protected]

Schemes coming into force:

Westminster City Council - Additional Licensing

The council has confirmed its borough-wide additional licensing scheme will be renewed, coming into force on 31^st August and ending on 30 August 2031.

The licence fee is £1,540 per licence. Discounts are available for accredited landlords. Existing additional HMO licences will remain valid until their individual expiry dates and landlords can submit renewal applications up to three months before this date. Applications for new licences may be made from 1^st June.

Further information about the scheme and where to apply can be found on the council’s website or by emailing [email protected]

London Borough of Hillingdon - Additional Licensing  

The council has confirmed following consultation that a boroughwide additional licensing scheme will come into force 24^th August,  ending on 23^rd August 2031. The council has excluded section 257 HMOs from the scheme. These are which are properties that have been converted into flats and where two thirds of the flats are owner occupied, or where the conversion did not comply with the relevant building regulations at the time – and still doesn’t. The licence fee is £1,401 per property, with the application process to open on 20 May.

Further information about the scheme and where to apply can be found on the council’s website. 

London Borough of Croydon - Selective and Additional Licensing  

Following consultation, the council has approved a borough-wide additional licensing scheme and a selective licensing scheme which covers part of the borough.

Areas covered by the selective licensing scheme are: 

• Addiscombe East 

• Addiscombe West 

• Bensham Manor 

• Broad Green 

• Fairfield 

• Norbury and Pollards Hill 

• Norbury Park 

• Selhurst 

• South Croydon 

• South Norwood 

• Thornton Heath 

• Waddon 

• West Thornton 

• Woodside

The licence fee is £1,250 for an additional licence and £800 for a selective licence. Discounts are available for landlords who are accredited.

Both schemes come into force on 1^st September. More information on how to apply for licences will be available  this summer and further information can be found on the council’s website.  

London Borough of Enfield - Selective Licensing

Following consultation, the council has renewed its selective licensing scheme which will come into force 1^st September and end 31 August 2031.

The council has split the designation into two parts which come into force on the same date. Areas covered by the selective licensing scheme are:

Designation One:  [SW1] 

• Bowes 

• Brimsdown 

• Bullsmoor  

• Carterhatch  

• Edmonton Green  

• Enfield Lock 

• Haselbury 

• Jubilee 

• Lower Edmonton 

• Ponders End 

• Southbury 

• Upper Edmonton 

• Whitewebbs  

Designation Two:  

• New Southgate 

• Palmers Green 

• Southgate Town

The licence fee is £750 per property. Current selective licences will remain in force until their existing expiry date. Further information about the scheme can be found on the council’s website.