SELECTIVE LICENSING IN BIRMINGHAM

SELECTIVE LICENSING IN BIRMINGHAM

Following Birmingham City Councils successful application to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, they now have a selective licensing scheme covering 25 of Birmingham's 69 wards.

The scheme started on 5 June 2023. Each licence costs £700 and will last for five years.

You only need a licence if your property is in one of the 25 affected wards.

DO I NEED A SELECTIVE LICENSE?

To find out if your property is in one of the 25 affected wards and will need a selective licence you can use Birmingham City Councils address checker:

EXEMPTIONS TO THE SCHEME

You won’t need a new selective licence if your property is:

• Already licensed as an HMO
• Managed directly by an educational establishment
• Let by a registered social landlord such as a housing association

You can find a full list of exemptions on the UK legislation website.

Check if you need an additional HMO licence

ENFORCING THE NEW SCHEME

Birmingham City Council will start to enforce the new scheme from 4 September 2023 and may take you to court if your property does not have a licence.

The court could give you an unlimited fine or issue a rent repayment order. A rent repayment order means you have to repay rent to any tenant living in an unlicensed property.

APPLYING FOR A SELECTIVE LICENSE

You can apply for a licence yourself directly using the button below. Alternatively, Trueman Estates can apply for a licence for a property on your behalf.

DOCUMENTS AND OTHER INFORMATION

You will need some documents and other information before you apply for a licence:

• Name and contact details of anyone with an interest in the property (this could include the owner, freeholder or mortgage company)
• The date of birth of the person who will be the licence holder
• Measurements of all the rooms in square metres along with their position in the Property (floorplan)
• The current electricity installation inspection and test certificate (EICR)
• The most recent gas safety certificate (if applicable)

FURTHER INFORMATION

If you sell your property, any new landlord will have to apply for their own licence. You cannot transfer a licence to someone else.

Landlords will have to pay for a licence for each property that they own in an affected ward. There are no discounts for landlords with more than one property. For example, if you own 10 properties, you will have to pay for 10 licences.

COSTS

Each licence costs £700 and will last for five years.

If you would like Trueman Estates to apply for a licence on your behalf, we will charge £125 + VAT for each application.

If you would like Trueman Estates to produce a floorplan, we will charge £50 per floorplan.