Charnwood council in the East Midlands is now accepting applications from landlords of private rented properties that are covered by two new licensing schemes.

The council has introduced Additional and Selective Licensing to – in its words – “drive up standards across privately rented homes in the area.”

Landlords and letting agents with properties in the borough are being urged to check the new licensing requirements and apply online. 

Additional Licensing is a borough-wide scheme for HMOs which do not already hold a mandatory licence and are occupied by three and four unrelated persons. Selective Licensing in the Hastings and Lemyngton wards in Loughborough focuses on privately rented accommodation and aims to improve standards. 

Selective Licensing requires all landlords operating within the two wards to licence their property.

The licence fee per application is £700 for five years which will be only used to cover the costs to run the licensing schemes.

A council spokesperson says: “I would urge landlords to familiarise themselves with the licensing schemes to make sure they don’t fall foul of the new requirements. The changes mean more privately rented homes in the borough will need to be licensed and it is the duty of landlords to comply.

“A large number of landlords and letting agents operating in Charnwood are responsible, care about their tenants and manage their properties well. However, there are some properties which are not being managed appropriately and can impact the tenants and the local neighbourhood.

“We have invited landlords to join a virtual session to learn more about the schemes and find out more about the application process. There is still time for people to sign up for the session.”

A virtual landlords forum will take place via Microsoft Teams tomorrow at 6pm. To sign up, email [email protected].