Selective licensing in Burnley

Active in Burnley

Selective licensing applies to most private rented homes inside a designated area. Burnley has at least one active selective scheme. The detail below is built from the council's own pages.

What selective licensing actually means

A council can designate any part of its area for selective licensing under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004. Inside the designated area, almost every privately rented home needs a licence, whether the property is a single-family let, a small flat, or a house shared by a couple.

Selective licensing is not about HMOs. The rule keys off the fact that the home is privately rented, not how many people live in it or how many households share it.

Renting out without a licence inside a designated area is a criminal offence. Councils can apply a civil penalty of up to £40,000 per offence, and tenants can apply for a rent repayment order of up to 12 months of rent.

Check an address against the scheme

Enter the postcode and pick the address. We check the selected street against the council's published scheme area and tell you whether the licence applies.

Burnley selective licensing schemes

Burnley selective licensing 2022 to 2027

Selective licensing · active · Mapped boundary

Coverage: Mapped boundary
Runs: 21 Jul 2022 to 20 Jul 2027
Term: 5 years
Fee per property: £736

Burnley selective licensing applies in Burnley Wood with Healey Wood and Leyland Road from 21 July 2022 to 20 July 2027.

The scheme is drawn on a map. The council publishes a boundary, and only properties inside that boundary need a licence. Use the council's map for any address near the edge.

Online applications are paid in two parts: £382 on application (Part A) and £354 on grant (Part B), total £736. Burnley publishes an additional-property fee of £661.

Properties exempt from this scheme

Properties owned by a local authority or registered social provider
Holiday lets
Commercial lettings
Where a family member rents the property from the owner (proof required)
Long lease tenancies of 21 years or more, registered at Land Registry
Where a temporary exemption notice has been granted

Discounts the council offers

30% discount for eligible Good Landlord and Agent Scheme (GLAS) landlords
£100 early application discount for a full first application submitted within 3 months of the designation coming into force
Empty Homes Programme payment of the selective licensing fee for eligible accredited landlords who buy and refurbish a qualifying empty property

Mapped boundary

Burnley Wood with Healey Wood selective licensing area, Leyland Road selective licensing area, Listed addresses outside the 2022 selective licensing maps.

Apply for this licence on the council site

Burnley selective licensing 2025 to 2030

Selective licensing · active · Mapped boundary

Coverage: Mapped boundary
Runs: 27 Apr 2025 to 26 Apr 2030
Term: 5 years
Fee per property: £774

Burnley's 2025 selective licensing designations apply in Trinity, Gannow, Queensgate, Daneshouse and Stoneyholme, and Padiham.

The scheme is drawn on a map. The council publishes a boundary, and only properties inside that boundary need a licence. Use the council's map for any address near the edge.

Paid in two parts: £420 on application (Part A) and £354 on grant (Part B), total £774. Burnley publishes an additional-property fee of £692.

Properties exempt from this scheme

Properties owned by a local authority or registered social provider
Holiday lets
Commercial lettings
Where a family member rents the property from the owner (proof required)
Long lease tenancies of 21 years or more, registered at Land Registry
Where a temporary exemption notice has been granted

Discounts the council offers

£100 early application discount for the first full application submitted within 6 weeks of the property being required to be licensed
30% discount for eligible Good Landlord and Agent Scheme (GLAS) landlords

Mapped boundary

Daneshouse and Stoneyholme selective licensing area, Gannow selective licensing area, Listed addresses outside the 2025 selective licensing maps, Padiham selective licensing area, Queensgate selective licensing area, Trinity selective licensing area.

Apply for this licence on the council site

Burnley selective licensing consultation 2026

Selective licensing · proposed · Named areas

Coverage: Named areas

Burnley consulted from 3 August to 18 October 2026 on replacement selective licensing schemes for Burnley Wood with Healey Wood and Leyland Road, and a new scheme for Lyndhurst Road.

The scheme covers the areas listed on the council's designation notice.

Properties exempt from this scheme

Properties owned by a local authority or registered social provider
Holiday lets
Commercial lettings
Where a family member rents the property from the owner (proof required)
Long lease tenancies of 21 years or more, registered at Land Registry
Where a temporary exemption notice has been granted

Consultations and upcoming changes

Burnley selective licensing 2026 consultation

closed under review · Named areas

Burnley consulted from 3 August to 18 October 2026 on replacement selective licensing schemes for Burnley Wood with Healey Wood and Leyland Road, which end on 20 July 2027, and a new Lyndhurst Road area. Burnley says every response goes in a consultation report to its Executive Committee.

Who needs a selective licence

If the property is inside the scheme area and rented out under most types of tenancy, the landlord usually needs a licence. That includes a couple renting a flat, a single tenant renting a whole house, and a family renting a terrace.

A selective licence does not normally apply to social housing, holiday lets, properties under the Housing Act 1985 Part 7, or homes already licensed as HMOs. The council's notice of designation lists the exact exemptions, and they vary scheme to scheme.

Whoever is in control of the property is responsible for the licence. That is normally the freeholder for a house, or the leaseholder for a flat. A managing agent can hold the licence with the landlord's written agreement.

Selective licensing and HMO licensing in Burnley

Selective licensing and HMO licensing are different rules. A property only needs one licence at a time. If the property meets the test for a mandatory HMO (five or more people in two or more households) or for an additional HMO licence the council runs, that takes precedence and the property does not also need a selective licence.

Burnley does not currently run an additional HMO licensing scheme. Larger HMOs still need a mandatory HMO licence under national law, but a small house share that does not meet the mandatory threshold falls back under selective licensing in scheme areas.

The practical effect: check the HMO rules first. If the property is an HMO under either definition, apply for the HMO licence. If it is a single-household let inside a designated selective area, apply for the selective licence instead.

How to apply

Applications go through the council. Most have an online form that takes the property address, the landlord and agent details, gas and electrical safety certificates, an Energy Performance Certificate, and proof of right to manage. Councils ask for the fee up front, usually split between a non-refundable application fee and a grant fee paid when the licence is issued.

A licence usually runs for five years. If the council renews the designation, every existing licence has to be re-applied for. Fees and conditions can change between renewals.

A licence is tied to the named landlord and the named property. Sell the property, change the manager, or move out and the licence does not transfer. The council needs a new application.

What happens if you do not licence

Renting out an unlicensed property in a designated area is a criminal offence under section 95 of the Housing Act 2004. Councils can prosecute, or apply a civil penalty of up to £40,000 instead under section 249A. The decision is the council's, and a civil penalty does not need a court case.

A tenant can apply for a rent repayment order for up to 12 months of rent already paid. Universal Credit and housing benefit paid for the same period can also be reclaimed by the council under section 41 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016. Two separate offences in 12 months can trigger a banning order, which removes the landlord from the rental market entirely.

The council can record the offence against the landlord or agent. Repeated housing offences can lead to a banning order and can affect future licence applications.

Talk to Burnley directly

Anything on this page that you cannot find an answer to, the council's licensing team can confirm in minutes.

Email the licensing team

[email protected]

Phone the licensing team

01282 475810

Apply for a licence

Application form on Burnley's website

Public licence register

Search licensed properties in Burnley

Official licensing page

Burnley council guidance

Mortgage and insurance implications

A buy-to-let mortgage usually requires the landlord to hold any licence the council demands. Lenders ask for the licence reference at the point of letting and again at renewal. Letting an unlicensed property in a designated area can technically breach the mortgage terms, and lenders have called in loans on that basis.

Landlord insurance is similar. Insurers normally require any licensable property to actually be licensed, and a civil penalty or rent repayment order can void cover for related claims. Disclose the licence status on renewal.

Buyers of let properties in Burnley should ask the seller for the licence reference and the conditions attached to it. The licence ends on sale, but the conditions tell the buyer what improvements the council has already required.