Guides · Landlords
Selective licensing in Liverpool and Manchester: what landlords need to check
Letting a property without a required licence carries real penalties. Here's what selective licensing actually means, and exactly how to check if it applies to you.
Why this catches landlords out
It isn't a citywide rule, and it isn't optional
Selective licensing is a council scheme that requires a landlord to hold a licence before letting a property in a specific designated area — regardless of the property's size, type, or whether it's a house in multiple occupation. It exists alongside (not instead of) any HMO licensing that may also apply. Both Liverpool and Manchester have active schemes, but neither covers the whole city uniformly, and the designated areas don't follow tidy boundaries — which is exactly why landlords who'd normally never miss a legal requirement still get caught out by this one.
What it actually means
The part landlords often underestimate
A real licence, not a formality
If your property falls inside a designated area, you need the licence in place before you let it — not applied for, in place. Conditions typically cover things like managing anti-social behaviour, property condition, and gas/electrical safety, on top of whatever you're already doing.
The penalties are serious
Letting without a required licence can mean an unlimited fine, a civil penalty of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution, and a Rent Repayment Order requiring up to 12 months' rent to be repaid to the tenant — even if the property itself is in perfect condition.
Boundaries are genuinely complex, especially in Manchester
Liverpool's scheme covers a defined set of wards. Manchester's is built up from several separate, street-level designations added in different waves — there's no single clean area list for either city, and a property a few streets from a covered area can fall either side of the line.
Boundaries change
Liverpool has an active consultation on expanding its scheme further, potentially to a much larger area. A property that wasn't covered last year isn't guaranteed to stay that way — this isn't a one-off check.
How to actually check
Direct from each council — don't rely on a postcode list someone else compiled
Liverpool
Check your exact address on Liverpool City Council's own selective licensing pages at liverpool.gov.uk (Business → Licences and permits → Landlord licensing → Selective licensing scheme) — the only reliable source, since ward boundaries were redrawn in 2023.
Manchester
Manchester City Council runs a dedicated postcode checker for this specifically, at manchester.gov.uk ("Areas where a selective licence is required") — necessary given how granular the designated streets are.
Any other council
Selective licensing isn't unique to Liverpool and Manchester — if you own property elsewhere, check that council's own licensing pages directly before assuming it doesn't apply.
If you use RENTL
This is tracked for you, not left to chance
Checked per property, not assumed
We check each property we manage against the current designated areas for Liverpool and Manchester as a standard part of onboarding — not a one-off check that goes stale.
Flagged, not silently skipped
Where a property's licensing status genuinely can't be confirmed from the public data alone (which happens, given how granular some of these schemes are), we flag it rather than guess — and check directly with the council.