HMO and selective licensing in Leicester City Council

Leicester runs two licensing schemes. Which one applies depends on the property, who lives there and where it is.

• Mandatory HMO licensing covers large HMOs — five or more people from two or more households — across the city.^[19]
• Selective licensing covers privately rented homes in parts of five wards, listed below. It includes small HMOs shared by up to four people from two or more households.^[13]
• No additional HMO scheme runs in Leicester, so a small HMO outside the selective areas needs no local licence.^[13]

The council made the selective designation on 7 July 2022. It came into force on 10 October 2022 and ends on 9 October 2027 unless the council revokes it earlier.^[13]

Whatever Leicester designates locally, a large HMO shared by at least five people from more than one household needs a mandatory licence anywhere in England. The property licensing guide sets out the national tests that sit behind every local scheme.^[19]

Leicester's selective scheme covers parts of these five wards:^[13]

• Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields
• Fosse
• Saffron
• Stoneygate
• Westcotes

Leicester publishes a public register of licensed HMOs on its open-data site. To check a selective licence, start from the council's selective licensing page (opens in new tab) or email selectivelicensing@leicester.gov.uk. A missing entry is a reason to ask the council in writing, not proof of an offence: an application or an exemption may have covered the dates you rented.^[17]

1. Open the HMO register, or use the selective-licence route above. Open HMO register (opens in new tab)^[17]
2. Search the exact address. Save a dated screenshot or download of the result. Councils must keep a register of licences, temporary exemption notices and management orders and make it available for inspection.^[20]
3. Ask about applications and exemptions. A missing entry is a reason to investigate, not proof of an offence, so ask whether a licence, application or exemption covered the dates you rented there.^[23]
4. Report or ask in writing. Report an unlicensed HMO (opens in new tab). Leicester has an online form for a suspected unlicensed HMO. There is no form for selective-area homes; write to selectivelicensing@leicester.gov.uk.^[18] Ask for a reference number and keep the reply.

Leicester's HMO guidance says HMO landlords must keep escape routes clear and keep shared facilities and communal areas adequate, clean and in good repair. It also requires working smoke alarms and gas and electrical safety checks. In the selective areas, the council says fire detection and alarm systems must be linked and mains-powered.^[15]

• National conditions are the floor. Every licence carries the prescribed conditions on gas, electrics, alarms, tenancy terms and waste, and can last up to five years; the property licensing guide lists them in full.^[21]
• Compare the licence with reality. The register entry or licence may identify the manager, the permitted occupancy and property-specific conditions. Check those details against how the home is actually occupied and managed.
• Keep separate evidence of hazards. A licence does not establish continuing compliance. Report disrepair or an immediate safety risk separately, and keep photographs, messages and certificates.

The selective scheme can only apply to periods from 10 October 2022, and only to addresses inside its boundaries. Mandatory HMO licensing applies throughout. For a tenancy near a boundary, ask the council in writing whether your exact address was in the designated area.^[13]

1. Confirm the scheme and dates. Match the address, occupancy and rental period to the designation in force at the time.
2. Ask the council in writing. Report an unlicensed HMO (opens in new tab). Ask Leicester City Council whether an effective application or temporary exemption existed and when it took effect.^[18]
3. Check the legal position. An application, an exemption, a reasonable excuse or the identity of the person legally responsible (the "person managing or controlling" the property) can all affect whether an offence is proved.^[23]
4. Preserve the evidence. Keep the tenancy, rent payments, proof of occupation, dated searches and council correspondence.

For a licensing offence committed on or after the 1 May 2026 rule change, a tenant can ask the First-tier Tribunal for up to two years' rent, and normally has two years from the offence to apply. The tenant must prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt, and the tribunal decides any award from the statutory factors and evidence; recovery is never automatic.^[24] Older offence periods may be governed by earlier limits. Free housing advice is available from Shelter and Citizens Advice, and local law centres can help with tribunal cases.