Manchester licensing/Selective licensing

Selective licensing in Manchester

Active in Manchester

Selective licensing applies to most private rented homes inside a designated area. Manchester 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.

Manchester selective licensing schemes

Manchester selective licensing 2022 areas

Selective licensing · active · Mapped boundary

Coverage: Mapped boundary
Runs: 1 May 2022 to 30 Apr 2027
Term: 5 years
Fee per property: £798

Manchester selective licensing 2022 areas applies in named Manchester areas from 2022-05-01 to 2027-04-30.

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.

Standard full fee is £798, paid as a £402 application fee and £396 grant fee. Manchester also publishes early bird and subsequent application fees for this designation.

Properties exempt from this scheme

Owner-occupied homes with up to two lodgers where accommodation and amenities are shared with the landlord are exempt.
Properties requiring a mandatory HMO or additional licence are exempt from selective licensing.
Properties managed by local authorities, police, fire and rescue authorities or health service bodies are exempt.
Registered Social Landlord properties are exempt.
Holiday homes, agricultural tenancies, certain student accommodation and homes occupied by the owner's family are exempt.
Properties with a Temporary Exemption Notice or an Interim or Final Management Order in force are exempt.

Mapped boundary

Addresses on streets partly included in Manchester's 2022 selective licensing areas, Clayton and Openshaw (Ben Street area), Gorton and Abbey Hey (Hyde Road), Gorton and Abbey Hey (the Ladders), Harpurhey (Trinity area).

Apply for this licence on the council site

Manchester selective licensing 2023 areas

Selective licensing · active · Mapped boundary

Coverage: Mapped boundary
Runs: 9 Aug 2023 to 8 Aug 2028
Term: 5 years
Fee per property: £936

Manchester selective licensing 2023 areas applies in named Manchester areas from 2023-08-09 to 2028-08-08.

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.

Standard full fee is £936, paid as a £490 application fee and £446 grant fee. Manchester also publishes early bird and subsequent application fees for this designation.

Properties exempt from this scheme

Owner-occupied homes with up to two lodgers where accommodation and amenities are shared with the landlord are exempt.
Properties requiring a mandatory HMO or additional licence are exempt from selective licensing.
Properties managed by local authorities, police, fire and rescue authorities or health service bodies are exempt.
Registered Social Landlord properties are exempt.
Holiday homes, agricultural tenancies, certain student accommodation and homes occupied by the owner's family are exempt.
Properties with a Temporary Exemption Notice or an Interim or Final Management Order in force are exempt.

Mapped boundary

Addresses on streets partly included in Manchester's 2023 selective licensing areas, Levenshulme (Matthews Lane), Longsight (The Royals), Moss Side (Great Western Street / Claremont Road), Rusholme (Birch Lane), Rusholme (Laindon / Dickenson Road).

Apply for this licence on the council site

Manchester selective licensing 2025 areas

Selective licensing · active · Mapped boundary

Coverage: Mapped boundary
Runs: 24 May 2025 to 23 May 2030
Term: 5 years
Fee per property: £964

Manchester selective licensing 2025 areas applies in named Manchester areas from 2025-05-24 to 2030-05-23.

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.

Standard full fee is £964, paid as a £469 application fee and £495 grant fee. Manchester also publishes early bird and subsequent application fees for this designation.

Properties exempt from this scheme

Owner-occupied homes with up to two lodgers where accommodation and amenities are shared with the landlord are exempt.
Properties requiring a mandatory HMO or additional licence are exempt from selective licensing.
Properties managed by local authorities, police, fire and rescue authorities or health service bodies are exempt.
Registered Social Landlord properties are exempt.
Holiday homes, agricultural tenancies, certain student accommodation and homes occupied by the owner's family are exempt.
Properties with a Temporary Exemption Notice or an Interim or Final Management Order in force are exempt.

Mapped boundary

Addresses on streets partly included in Manchester's 2025 selective licensing areas, Cheetham: flats above shops and Esmond / Avondale area, Crumpsall: Enver Road area, Harpurhey: Whiteway Street area, Longsight: Heathcote / Sanby Road and Northmoor Road areas, Miles Platting and Newton Heath: Droylsden Road and Scotland Street areas, Moss Side: Viscount Street and Heald Grove areas.

Apply for this licence on the council site

Consultations and upcoming changes

Manchester discretionary licensing schemes 2027 to 2032 proposal

under consideration · unknown

Manchester's Register of Key Decisions lists a decision, not before 12 November 2026, to designate selective licensing and additional HMO licensing schemes for 2027 to 2032 in areas to be set out in a report to the Executive on 9 December 2026, subject to a 10-week public consultation. The areas have not been published yet. Manchester's 2022 selective licensing areas end on 30 April 2027.

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 Manchester

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.

Manchester 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 Manchester 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

0161 245 7850

Apply for a licence

Application form on Manchester's website

Public licence register

Search licensed properties in Manchester

Official licensing page

Manchester council guidance

Council postcode checker

Manchester's own street or postcode lookup

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 Manchester 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.