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North Lincolnshire Selective Licensing Scheme is located in Scunthorpe within the ward areas of Crosby and Park and Town and was formally designated on 3 October 2024 and came into effect on 20 March 2025. This means that property owners who privately rent their properties in designated areas of Scunthorpe need to apply for a licence.
Delivery of the scheme was subject to delay due a to legal challenge (Judicial Review) which has now been dismissed by the High Court.
Applications for the Selective Licensing Scheme are open from 6 October 2025.
IMPORTANT: It is an offence to operate a tenancy in an area designated for selective licensing without having a licence or without having submitted a duly made application. The council will allow a reasonable period of time, at their discretion, for applicants to submit their applications before taking enforcement action for failure to licence. Please note, it is also an offence for an agent to continue to manage a property without a licence. The scheme will remain in force until 19 March 2030.
We have provided below all the information you need to know about how the Selective Licensing Scheme works. Please read this carefully.
Home Safe is overseeing the administration of the Selective Licensing Scheme as our direct delivery partner. You must apply for your licence directly through Home Safe via their website.
The Home Safe website contains all the information you need to know about how to apply, including how to register as an Applicant, apply to be a Licence Holder, and details the documents required to complete your application.
Any letting agents with landlord clients operating in the designated area will need to be registered with Home Safe before 6 October 2025 to enable them to be added to licence applications.
An information and support session will take place for letting agents on 16 September 2025 at 2pm in the Council Chamber at Church Square House so they can start to register on the Home Safe platform in readiness for their clients starting their applications.
An application workshop for Landlords will take place on the 30 September 2025 at 2:00pm in the Council Chamber at Church Square House.
These events have been designed to provide landlords/applicants relevant information about how the scheme will work with a specific focus on how to submit a valid application.
To book a place at any of the events please use the link below.
The Housing Act 2004 gives councils the power to require residential landlords to obtain a licence to let property to tenants within a designated area.
The aim is to improve the quality of life for all in the area by ensuring a consistent high standard of management of private rented homes. This makes a positive contribution to the area and supports the council priorities of ‘Keeping People Safe and Well’ and ‘Enabling Resilient and Flourishing Communities’.
The designated area has a high level of private rented housing. The criteria to be considered as ‘high level’ is for an area to have above 23.5% private rented housing. If this level is reached, we can introduce Selective Licensing if an area satisfies one or more of the following conditions:
Selective Licensing is a scheme that requires most private rented properties to be licensed. It means that houses need to be licensed where they have one or two tenants or a family living there. Although the legislation refers to ‘houses’, this does cover a variety of housing types, such as flats. The scheme provides for the regulation of ‘houses’ as defined by Housing Act 2004.
The council wants to ensure rental properties are safe, well-maintained, and properly managed. Data shows problems in these areas related to poor housing conditions, bad management, anti-social behaviour, and environmental concerns, especially with privately rented homes.
Following Cabinet approval, Selective Licensing for Area 1 (Crosby & Park and Town) was designated on the 3 October 2024. For further details please read the Notice of Designation.
A copy of this notice may be inspected at the Reception of North Lincolnshire Council, Church Square House, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, DN15 6XQ.
The introduction of this new scheme comes after a full consultation.
Read the summary of the Selective Licensing Consultation outcome report.
North Lincolnshire Council’s ambition is to be the best place for our people. To achieve this there is a clear commitment to ensuring that the council supports provision of a safe and healthy place for our communities to flourish and be resilient. The provision of suitable and well managed housing is a fundamental intervention in delivering this outcome.
The introduction of Selective Licensing in North Lincolnshire will make a positive contribution to the health and wellbeing of residents and demonstrates North Lincolnshire Council’s commitment to tackling health inequalities through focussing on the wider determinants of health.
All landlords of private rented homes in the Selective Licensing area will have to apply for a licence. Failure to do so will be an offence. The council wants to work with residents, tenants and landlords in the area to make this scheme a success.
Licensing helps identify non compliant landlords who impact negatively on the reputation of private landlords. It will improve the rental market across the designated area of Scunthorpe by raising standards, whilst also supporting responsible landlords with tenancy disputes and troublesome and anti-social tenants. Landlords will benefit from a more professional and robust market and more sustainable tenancies.
Licensing helps identify and penalise non compliant landlords who are responsible for:
It will improve the rental market across the town by raising housing and management standards in properties and by supporting tenants.
The Selective Licensing Scheme was designated on 20 March 2025 and will run for five years until 19 March 2030. Subject to evidence and consultation the scheme may be extended for a further five years.
For further details please read the Notice of Designation.
The designated area is located within the following electoral wards:
Type your property address into the box below to check if it falls within the Selective Licensing Area. Any queries about property addresses should be sent to : selective.licensing@northlincs.gov.uk
A map and full list of streets can also be found in the drop down below.
| Street | Property number if not all of street included |
|---|---|
| Allanby Street | 2-28 (evens) |
| Berkeley Street | 2-98 (evens), 1-131 (odds), Berkeley Mews, Mehar Lodge |
| Buckingham Street North | 64-114 (evens), 59-109 (odds) |
| Buckingham Street South | 22 – 28 (evens), 50-62 (evens), 55-57 (odds) |
| Burke Street | |
| Burke Street North | |
| Chapel Court | |
| Chapel Street | |
| Chatterton Crescent | |
| Clarke Street | |
| Crosby Road | |
| Dale Street | |
| Dale Street North | |
| Detuyll Street | |
| Diana Street | |
| Digby Street | 2-106 (evens), 1-109 (odds) |
| Elizabeth Street | 1-53 (odds) |
| Ferry Road | |
| Fox Street | |
| Frances Street | 36-66 (evens), 43-71 (odds) |
| Frodingham Road | |
| George Street | |
| Gilliatt Street | |
| Glebe Road | |
| Grange Avenue | |
| Grosvenor Street North | |
| Grosvenor Street South | |
| Gurnell Street | |
| Hadleigh Court | |
| Mulgrave Street | |
| Normanby Road | 2-32 (evens), 1-39 (odds), Bay Tree Court Residential Home, The Cygnets |
| Old Crosby | 14-70 (evens), 21-53 (odds), Crosby Mews |
| Old School Close | |
| Parkinson Avenue | |
| Percival Street | |
| Porter Street | |
| Sheffield Street | |
| Sheffield Street East | |
| Sheffield Street West | 98-128 (evens), 87-125 (odds) |
| Smith Street | 2-32 (evens), 1-61 (odds) |
| Taylor Court | 2-6 (evens), 1-5 (odds) |
| Teale Street | |
| Warren Road | |
| Wells Street | |
| West Street |
Selective Licensing is a licensing scheme for landlords who privately rent properties that meet the below criteria and fall within the designated areas for Selective Licensing.
Each individual property you own within the designated areas requires a licence.
A privately rented property could fall under the Selective Licensing Scheme if there is:
Some privately rented properties are not required to hold a Selective Licence and are exempted from Selective Licensing via Housing Act 2004 (legislation.gov.uk)
Statutory exemptions include:
House subject to a Prohibition Order whose operation has not been suspended
Housing Act 1988 Tenancies below:
(i)paragraph 4 (business tenancies)
(ii)paragraph 5 (licensed premises) via Licensing Act 2003
(iii)paragraph 6 (tenancies of agricultural land); or
(iv)paragraph 7 (tenancies of agricultural holdings etc).
a tenancy or licence of a house or a dwelling that is managed or controlled by —
(i)a local housing authority
(ii)a police authority established under section 3 of the Police Act 1996
(iii)the Metropolitan Police Authority established under section 5B of the Police Act 1996
(iv)a fire and rescue authority under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 ; or
(v)a health service body within the meaning of section 4 of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990.
Exempted HMO’s :Buildings regulated otherwise than under this Act Housing Act 2004 (legislation.gov.uk) Buildings Occupied by Students where the Student accommodation managed under the approved Code of Practice here: The Housing (Approval of Code of Management Practice) (Student Accommodation) (England) Order 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)
Tenancy over 21 years
a tenancy of a house or a dwelling where—
(i)the full term of the tenancy is more than 21 years
(ii)the lease does not contain a provision enabling the landlord to determine the tenancy, other than by forfeiture, earlier than at end of the term; and
(iii)the house or dwelling is occupied by a person to whom the tenancy was granted or his successor in title or any members of such person’s family.
Tenancy Family Members
a tenancy or licence of a house or a dwelling granted by a person to a person who is a member of his family where—
(i)the person to whom the tenancy or licence is granted occupies the house or dwelling as his only or main residence
(ii)the person granting the tenancy or licence is the freeholder or the holder of a lease of the house or dwelling the full term of which is more than 21 years; and
(iii)the lease referred to in sub-paragraph (ii) does not contain a provision enabling the landlord to determine the tenancy, other than by forfeiture, earlier than at end of the term.
A tenancy or licence that is granted to a person in relation to his occupancy of a house or a dwelling as a holiday home.
Tenancy shared with Landlord
a tenancy or licence under the terms of which the occupier shares any accommodation with the landlord or licensor or a member of the landlord’s or licensor’s family.
If you own an HMO containing five or more persons, you must hold a Mandatory HMO Licence.
If you already have a Mandatory HMO Licence, you do not need to apply for a Selective Licence.
If you own an HMO containing three or four persons, which is inside the Selective Licensing designation area, you are required to hold a Selective Licence.
For every licence there must be a named licence holder. We have a duty to grant a licence to the most appropriate person. In most circumstances, this would be the owner of the property. In some circumstances however, it may be a leaseholder or a manager / managing agent. It is the owner’s responsibility to ensure that an application for a licence is made for their property.
The proposed licence holder must have the power to:
If the owner nominates a managing agent to be the proposed licence holder, they must have the power to undertake the listed conditions above. The licence holder will be bound by the licence conditions and should be competent.
Licences are not transferable. Therefore if the licence holder needs to be changed, a new licence application and fee payment will be required.
If the proposed licence holder is not available to manage the property, it is advisable to appoint a local manager who is authorised to deal with emergency repairs and any issues concerning antisocial behaviour. If a company applies to be licence holder, they must nominate an appropriate person to hold the licence within that company. The named licence holder will be the person responsible for complying with all the licence conditions.
It may take up to 26 weeks after receiving your completed application to grant or refuse a licence. Timescales may vary depending on the number of applications we’re processing at the time and the complexities of any individual applications.
Once a draft licence has been issued a 28 day consultation period follows which gives you and all interested parties the chance to ask questions, challenge our decision or make comments. Following this period a decision will be made as to if a final licence can be issued. We will give you the notice of the granting or refusal of a licence, as well as a copy of the licence at the end of this consultation period. Please note that all communications, including the issuing of draft and final licences will be done electronically by email through our Delivery Partner, Home Safe.
Once you have a Selective Licence, it is valid until the end of the five-year period that the scheme runs for.
Licences cannot be transferred to another person if you sell the property or the current licence holder dies. See our further information drop down boxes for more details on these scenarios.
The fee is broken down into two parts. Part A covers the costs associated with processing the licence application. Part B covers the cost of compliance activity relating to the scheme. Part A of the fee is payable when the application is submitted and Part B of the fee will be invoiced at the point the draft licence is issued. The final licence cannot be issued until Part B has been paid in full, this will need paying within seven days of being issued. If a licence is rejected or otherwise not issued, only the Part B element of the fee is eligible for a refund, if it has been paid.
Licence fee breakdown:
It is an offence to rent a property in a designated area without applying for a Selective Licence. Landlords with unlicensed rented properties can face a financial penalty notice of up to £30,000 or an unlimited fine from the court. Landlords could also be ordered to repay up to 12 months’ rent.
If you are aware of a property that requires a Selective Licence but doesn’t have one, please email us at selective.licensing@northlincs.gov.uk
Licences will initially be issued as draft documents and applicants will have a period of 14 days to make any written representations.
Please read the proposed Licence Conditions and the associated Guidance Notes to assist with expectations around these requirements.