The proposed Preston selective landlord licence fee is £1,050 per property for a licence lasting up to five years. The £1,050 is the total proposed fee for the licence period, not an annual charge.
Preston City Council is currently consulting on a proposed selective licensing scheme for privately rented properties in City Centre, St Matthew’s and Plungington. The scheme is not yet in force, so landlords are not currently required to pay the proposed fee.
If approved, qualifying landlords would need a separate licence for each affected property, with licences expected to last for up to five years.
The consultation remains open until 11 October 2026, meaning the final fee structure and implementation arrangements could still change before the scheme begins.
| Proposed charge | Amount | When payable |
| Part A fee | £470 | When applying |
| Part B fee | £580 | Once the council is minded to grant the licence |
| Total proposed fee | £1,050 | Per property |
| Licence period | Up to 5 years | Subject to the final scheme |
| Approx. annual equivalent | £210 | Illustration only |
Is the £1,050 Preston Selective Licensing Fee Annual or for Five Years?
The Preston selective licensing fee of £1,050 is proposed for the full licence period of up to five years. Landlords would not be charged £1,050 every year.
Preston City Council calculates that £1,050 over five years is equivalent to approximately £210 a year, £17.50 a month or £4.04 a week. These figures are only illustrations of the overall cost: the council is not proposing to collect the fee monthly or weekly.
The fee would instead be divided into two payments.
What does the Part A fee cover?
The proposed Part A fee is £470 and would be payable when the landlord submits an application.
According to Preston City Council, this part of the fee covers the cost of processing and determining the selective licence application.
What does the Part B fee cover?
The proposed Part B fee is £580 and would become payable once Preston City Council is minded to grant the licence.
This element would fund compliance, monitoring and enforcement activity during the life of the selective licence.
Together, Part A and Part B produce the proposed £1,050 Preston selective landlord licence fee.
Is the Preston Selective Landlord Licence Fee Confirmed Yet?
No. The £1,050 Preston selective landlord licence fee is currently a proposal, not a final charge that landlords are already required to pay.
Preston City Council opened a public consultation on 27 July 2026 covering the proposed scheme, designation areas, property types, licence conditions, fee arrangements and potential impacts.
The consultation is due to close at 11.59pm on 11 October 2026. The council says all feedback received during the consultation period will be considered before a final decision is made.
This distinction is important for landlords researching the cost today. There is no confirmed commencement date and landlords should not interpret the proposed £1,050 figure as an existing licensing charge.
Under the national selective licensing framework, councils in England must meet the requirements of Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004. Current government guidance also expects councils to consult affected parties for at least 10 weeks before introducing a designation.
Which Preston Landlords Would Have to Pay the Selective Licence Fee?
The proposed scheme does not cover the whole of Preston.
Preston City Council is proposing selective licensing in three wards:
City Centre, St Matthew’s and Plungington.
If the scheme is approved as proposed, most privately rented properties within those designated areas would require a selective licence unless a legal exemption applies.
Which rented properties could be included?
The proposal covers privately rented homes such as properties occupied by one household, properties occupied by two unrelated sharers, and smaller HMOs that do not already fall under mandatory HMO licensing.
Student accommodation is not automatically excluded. For example, a student property within a proposed licensing ward could require a selective licence if it is not already subject to mandatory HMO licensing.
Properties already requiring a mandatory HMO licence under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004 would generally sit outside the selective licensing requirement. Other statutory exemptions also exist, so landlords should check the status of their individual property rather than assuming every rental in the three wards will require the proposed licence.
Does My Preston Rental Property Need a Selective Licence?
A landlord can make an initial check in four steps:
Check the location: establish whether the property is in City Centre, St Matthew’s or Plungington.
- Is the property in CityCentre?
- Is it in St Matthew’s?
- Is it in Plungington?
- If it is outside these proposed wards, the current selective licensing proposal may not apply.
Check the occupation: identify who lives in the property and whether it is occupied by one household, sharers or as an HMO.
- Is the property rented to one household?
- Is it occupied by unrelated sharers?
- Is the property being used as an HMO?
- Check how many people and households are living at the property.
Check other licensing: determine whether the property already requires mandatory HMO licensing.
- Confirm whether the property already needs a mandatory HMO licence.
- Check whether an existing property licence is already in place.
- Identify which licensing regime applies to the property.
- Avoid assuming a selective licence is required if another licensing scheme already applies.
Check exemptions and the final scheme: confirm whether a statutory exemption applies and recheck Preston City Council’s rules once the consultation has concluded.
- Check whether the property qualifies for a statutory exemption.
- Review Preston City Council’s final licensing conditions.
- Confirm the final designated areas after consultation.
- Recheck the requirements before submitting any licence application
The council advises landlords who are uncertain about a property’s status to contact its licensing team.
Preston Selective Licence vs HMO Licence: What Is the Difference in Cost?
A selective licence and a mandatory HMO licence are separate forms of property licensing.
Preston City Council’s standard mandatory HMO licence fee has been £882 for a five-year licence since 1 April 2026. It is split into a £150 application fee and a £732 monitoring fee.
| Preston licensing regime | Current/proposed fee | Licence period |
| Proposed selective licence | £1,050 | Up to 5 years |
| Mandatory HMO licence | £882 | 5 years |
| Difference | £168 | — |
That makes the proposed selective licence £168 more expensive than Preston’s current standard mandatory HMO licence.
However, this is a cost comparison rather than a choice between two products. A landlord cannot simply apply for whichever licence is cheaper. The required licensing regime depends on where the property is located, how it is occupied and whether it meets the statutory definition requiring mandatory HMO licensing.
Can Landlords Get a Discount on the Preston Selective Licensing Fee?
A discount has not yet been confirmed, but Preston City Council is consulting on whether landlords who can demonstrate good practice should receive one.
The council identifies possible evidence such as membership of a recognised landlord body, recognised accreditation or relevant landlord training. Any discount would need to rely on verifiable evidence supplied when applying.
The final scheme may therefore differ from the headline £1,050 Preston selective licensing fee for qualifying landlords if a discount system is ultimately adopted.
Landlords should not budget on the assumption that a discount is guaranteed, however. The consultation needs to conclude and the final fee structure must be confirmed first.
Can You Pay the Preston Landlord Licence Fee in Instalments?
Preston City Council is not proposing payment by direct debit or instalments.
The planned two-part fee should not be confused with an instalment arrangement. Under the current proposal, £470 would be payable as Part A at the application stage and £580 as Part B once the council is minded to grant the licence.
Landlords considering the potential cost should therefore plan around those two proposed payment stages rather than a monthly repayment schedule.
Is the Preston Selective Licence Fee Refundable?
The proposed refund arrangements depend on which part of the Preston selective landlord licence fee has been paid.
The £470 Part A fee would not normally be refundable if an application is refused, because it covers the council’s cost of processing and determining the application.
The £580 Part B fee would only become payable where Preston City Council is minded to grant the licence.
This means an unsuccessful application could still leave the landlord responsible for the Part A cost.
What Does the £1,050 Preston Selective Licensing Fee Pay For?
Preston City Council says the proposed licence charge has been calculated on a cost-recovery basis.
Part A is intended to fund the administrative work involved in receiving, processing and determining applications. Part B would fund the continuing operation of the scheme, including compliance activity, monitoring and enforcement.
The council’s proposal would also introduce enforceable conditions covering areas such as property safety, maintenance, tenancy management, waste management and anti-social behaviour.
The stated purpose of the fee is therefore to fund the licensing system rather than operate as a general annual landlord charge.
The £1,050 Licence Fee May Not Be the Landlord’s Only Cost
The Preston selective licensing fee and the cost of complying with licence conditions are two different things.
A landlord whose property already meets all applicable legal and proposed licensing requirements may have little additional work to carry out. Another property could require repairs, updated documentation or other compliance work.
Preston’s draft licence conditions include requirements relating to gas and electrical safety, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, repairs, property inspections, tenancy management, waste and anti-social behaviour management.
The actual additional cost will therefore depend on the condition, management and existing documentation of each property. There is no reliable single figure that can be added to the £1,050 proposed licence fee for every landlord.
What Documents Could Preston Landlords Need Before Applying?
Preston City Council says landlords would typically need evidence showing that their property and management arrangements meet key requirements.
This could include a valid Gas Safety Certificate where there is a gas supply, an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), evidence of appropriate smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, tenancy and occupancy information, and details of any managing agent.
The application portal is not yet open because the scheme has not been approved or commenced.
The council says a full application checklist and step-by-step guidance will be published before any scheme goes live. Landlords should therefore avoid relying on an unofficial checklist as the final application standard.
What Happens If You Own Several Rental Properties in Preston?
The proposed Preston selective landlord licence fee is charged per property, rather than providing one licence for an entire landlord portfolio.
If a landlord owns several qualifying properties in the proposed designation, each property would require its own licence.
At the proposed £1,050 fee, the potential portfolio cost would look like this:
| Qualifying properties | Illustrative licence cost |
| 1 | £1,050 |
| 3 | £3,150 |
| 5 | £5,250 |
| 10 | £10,500 |
These calculations assume every property is within the final designation, requires a selective licence and attracts the full proposed £1,050 charge.
They are illustrations, not confirmed future bills. Any final fee, discount structure, designation boundary or property exemption could affect what an individual landlord ultimately pays.
What Happens to the Licence If You Sell the Property?
Preston City Council says selective licences would be property-specific and person-specific and would not be transferable.
If a landlord sells a licensed property, the existing licence would cease to have effect. A new owner intending to continue letting the property in the designated area would need to apply for their own licence.
This is particularly relevant when calculating the value of a five-year licence. Paying the proposed £1,050 charge would not mean that the same licence automatically follows the property to a buyer.
Landlords planning a sale, ownership restructuring or change in management should check the final council rules before making decisions based on the proposed scheme.
When Will Preston Selective Licensing Actually Start?
There is currently no confirmed start date for Preston selective licensing.
The consultation remains open until 11 October 2026. After it closes, Preston City Council says it will review the responses, prepare a consultation report and make a formal decision on whether to proceed with the designation.
If the scheme is approved, the council says affected landlords will receive reasonable advance notice before the commencement date.
This means landlords do not currently need to pay the proposed Preston selective landlord licence fee, and the application portal is not yet open.
What Preston Landlords Should Do Before the Final Decision?
Landlords with properties in City Centre, St Matthew’s or Plungington can use the consultation period to check whether their properties are likely to fall within the proposed scheme, review existing safety certificates and identify any properties already subject to mandatory HMO licensing.
Portfolio landlords may also want to calculate their potential exposure using the proposed £1,050 per-property charge and review the draft licence conditions for any compliance work that could be needed.
Most importantly, landlords should distinguish between the current proposal and the final scheme. The consultation runs until 11 October 2026, and the fee, discount arrangements and implementation details should be checked again once Preston City Council publishes its decision.
Conclusion
The Preston selective landlord licence fee is currently proposed at £1,050 per property for a licence lasting up to five years. It is not a £1,050 yearly charge.
Under the proposal, landlords would pay £470 at the application stage followed by £580 if Preston City Council is minded to grant the licence. The scheme would target privately rented properties in City Centre, St Matthew’s and Plungington, subject to the final designation and statutory exemptions.
The most important point for landlords is that the scheme is not yet in force. The consultation continues until 11 October 2026 and no commencement date has been announced.
Anyone researching the Preston selective landlord license fee should therefore treat £1,050 as the current proposed figure and check Preston City Council’s final decision before making an application or assuming the charge is payable.
FAQs
Is the Preston selective landlord licence fee £1,050 every year?
No. The proposed £1,050 fee would cover a selective licence lasting up to five years. Preston City Council gives an illustrative equivalent of approximately £210 a year, but the licence would not be charged annually at £1,050.
Is Preston selective licensing already in force?
No. As of 7 August 2026, Preston City Council is consulting on the proposed scheme. The consultation closes at 11.59pm on 11 October 2026, after which a final decision will be made.
Which areas of Preston are included in the proposed scheme?
The proposed selective licensing designation covers City Centre, St Matthew’s and Plungington. It does not currently propose selective licensing across the whole of Preston.
Does every landlord in Preston need a selective licence?
No. The proposal is geographically targeted, and statutory exemptions also apply. Landlords should check their property’s location, occupation and existing licensing position before deciding whether a selective licence would be required.
Do HMO landlords need to pay the Preston selective licensing fee?
A property already required to have a mandatory HMO licence would generally not also require a selective licence. Smaller HMOs that are not subject to mandatory HMO licensing could fall within Preston’s proposed selective scheme if they are in a designated area and no exemption applies.
Can landlords get a discount on the proposed £1,050 fee?
No discount has been confirmed. Preston City Council is consulting on whether a discount should be available to landlords who can demonstrate good practice, potentially through recognised membership, accreditation or relevant training.
When will Preston selective licensing start?
There is no confirmed commencement date. If the scheme is approved after consultation, Preston City Council says landlords will be given reasonable advance notice before it starts.
