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Housing licences

Blackpool Council is keen to encourage its improvement to meet the demand for good quality rented accommodation.

What is licensing

Licensing is a regulatory tool that allows local authorities to tackle areas suffering from significant anti-social behaviour or low housing demand by requiring privately rented homes to be licensed.

The key aim is to improve landlords’ management of properties and to help regenerate the area.

Types of licences

The Housing Act 2004 introduced three different types of licensing, two of which specifically relate to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

  • Mandatory HMO Licensing
  • Additional HMO Licensing
  • Selective Licensing

Mandatory HMO Licensing

Mandatory licensing applies to large HMOs with 5 or more people in 2 or more households, with some sharing of amenities or units not all fully self-contained.

Additional HMO Licensing

Additional licensing is a discretionary licensing scheme and applies to other types of HMOs which are not subject to mandatory licensing. 

Selective licensing

Selective licensing is also a discretionary scheme and covers privately rented properties which are not covered by mandatory or additional licensing.  

Public register

Introducing a scheme

To introduce an Additional HMO Licensing scheme local authorities must be able to demonstrate that a significant number of HMOs within a designated area are not being managed properly and the properties are in poor condition.

Local authorities can choose to introduce selective licensing of privately rented homes in order to tackle problems in designated areas experiencing:

  • Poor property conditions
  • Low housing demand 
  • Significant anti social behaviour
  • High levels of deprivation 
  • High levels of crime