# Licensing in North Lincolnshire > North Lincolnshire has selective licensing in part of the council area. - Checked 26 Oct 2026 (researched_at 2026-10-26, verified_at 2026-10-26) - Region: Yorkshire and The Humber - ONS code: E06000013 - Web page: https://lettance.com/councils/north-lincolnshire - API: https://lettance.com/api/v1/councils/north-lincolnshire ## Licensing schemes ### Selective licence: North Lincolnshire Borough Council Designation of an Area for Selective Licensing 2024 (Crosby & Park and Town, Scunthorpe) - Status: In force (`in_force`) - Area: The 'residential area of Crosby & Park and Town' in Scunthorpe 'as shown and delineated in red on the plan at Annexe A' (designation, 'pre-May 2022 ward boundaries'); the council describes it as parts of the Crosby & Park and Town wards. The council's street list names roads such as Frodingham Road, Crosby Road, Normanby Road, Ferry Road, Old Crosby, Mulgrave Street, Sheffield Street and Grosvenor Street North and South, but tells landlords to use the address checker to see 'if an individual property number is within the Designation', so roads may be only partly covered and no whole-road street list is recorded. Check the address on the council map. - Runs: 20 March 2025 to 18 March 2030. The council notice says it ceases to have effect on 19 March 2030 - Fee: Published standard fee: £955. Council page: Part A £615 on application plus Part B £340 invoiced at draft licence (total £955 for the 5-year period); £95 for incomplete Part A applications needing extra correspondence; £95 for failing to pay Part B within 14 days; £74 per hour officer support for paper applications. Applications are made through the delivery partner Home Safe. - Who needs one: Every house let or occupied under a tenancy or licence in the designated area (designation paragraph 7), including single households and 3 or 4 person HMOs; properties needing a mandatory HMO licence are excluded. One licence per property. - Exemptions: HMOs licensable under Part 2, registered social landlord tenancies, houses under management orders or temporary exemption notices, and the 2006 Specified Exemptions Order (prohibition orders, business/agricultural tenancies, public-body lettings, certain student lettings, long leases, family arrangements, holiday lets, resident landlords). - Apply: https://home-safe.org.uk/landlords/licence-schemes/north-lincs-selective-licensing - Licence conditions: https://www.northlincs.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Web-Site-Conditions-FINAL-24.07.25-a.pdf - Council's map or designation: https://map.northlincs.gov.uk/mycouncil.aspx?tab=maps&ms=nlincs_mapsources/AllMaps&Layers=Selective_Licensing_Area - Confidence: High - How we checked this: Designation notice: 'The designation is made on 3rd October 2024 and will come into force on 20th March 2025' and 'shall cease to have effect on 19th March 2030 (not more than 5 years) or earlier if the Council revokes the schemes'. The cessation date is the day before the fifth anniversary, so end_date is 18 March 2030 and ceases_on is recorded. Made under the general approval (no Secretary of State confirmation). A judicial review delayed delivery; the council says the High Court dismissed it (news, 5 September 2025), applications opened 6 October 2025, the scheme went live for applications on 20 October 2025 and the registration deadline was 6 January 2026. The council page: 'Once you have a Selective Licence, it is valid until the end of the five-year period that the scheme runs for.' The designation's Annexe B street list gives partial number ranges for many streets (for example 'Allanby Street 2-28 (evens)'), so no whole-road street list is recorded. Council pages still cite a £30,000 civil penalty. - Sources: https://www.northlincs.gov.uk/site/documents/licensing/selective-licensing-how-to-apply/, https://www.northlincs.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/NOTICE-OF-DESIGNATION-OF-AN-AREA-FOR-SELECTIVE-LICENSING-Final-signed-Nov-2024.pdf, https://www.northlincs.gov.uk/news/selective-licensing-scheme-to-proceed-following-high-court-ruling-north-lincolnshire-council-vows-to-tackle-rogue-landlords-and-bad-tenants/, https://www.northlincs.gov.uk/news/scheme-to-raise-community-standards-now-live-rogue-landlords-put-on-notice/ ### Mandatory HMO licence: Mandatory HMO licensing (North Lincolnshire fees) - Status: In force (`in_force`) - Area: Whole of North Lincolnshire (national scheme). - Fee: Published standard fee: £1,063. Council page: stage 1 (application, non-refundable) £595 plus £30 per room over five; stage 2 £468 plus £62 per room over five; total first application £1,063 plus £92 per extra room. Additional charges: £95 incomplete application, £95 late stage 2 payment, £74 per hour for paper applications. Page undated. - Licence length: 5 years - Who needs one: Properties rented to five or more persons forming two or more separate households who share basic amenities such as a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. - Apply: https://www.northlincs.gov.uk/council-tax-benefits-and-housing/mandatory-hmo-licensing/ - Confidence: High - How we checked this: 'The HMO licence will be valid for up to five years but may be for a shorter period'. Renewals should be submitted two months before expiry. HMOs needing a mandatory licence do not also need a selective licence. - Sources: https://www.northlincs.gov.uk/council-tax-benefits-and-housing/mandatory-hmo-licensing/ ## Article 4 for house shares North Lincolnshire has an Article 4 direction on HMOs (shared houses). Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission. - Area: Non-immediate C3 to C4 direction for the town of Scunthorpe, confirmed in March 2026 and taking effect from 26 November 2026 (not yet in force on 26 October 2026). The council lists the wards as Crosby and Park, Town, Frodingham, Ashby Central, Ashby Lakeside, Bottesford, Kingsway with Lincoln Gardens, Brumby, and part of Burringham and Gunness and of Burton upon Stather and Winterton, as shown on the direction plan. The 12 other North Lincolnshire Article 4 directions on planning.data.gov.uk are village heritage directions. - Takes effect: 26 November 2026 Council source: https://www.northlincs.gov.uk/planning-and-environment/article-4-direction-scunthorpe/ ## Civil penalty policy The council's policy sets how it decides the size of a fine. The version we found has not been updated for the Renters' Rights Act. 'Civil Penalties Enforcement Guidance and Procedure, Revised 2023' (PDF created September 2023), linked from the council's Housing advice for landlords page alongside the earlier Civil Penalties Procedure & Guidance 2019 and the 2020 Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy. It covers failure to license an HMO (s.72) and under Part 3 (s.95), states 'The law allows a maximum civil penalty of £30k per offence', and scores culpability against harm (levels 1 to 5+) with penalty bands £600-£1,200, £1,200-£3,000, £3,000-£6,000, £6,000-£15,000 and £15,000-£30,000 before adjustment. It predates the Renters' Rights Act 2025; the selective licensing page and designation still cite a civil penalty 'not exceeding £30,000'. Policy: https://m.northlincs.gov.uk/public/publications/Civil-Penalties-Enforcement-Guidance-and-Procedure-2/docs/Civil-Penalties-Enforcement-Guidance-and-Procedure-2.pdf ## Consultations We found no consultations when we researched North Lincolnshire. ## Not yet confirmed We could not settle these points when we researched North Lincolnshire on 26 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them. - Selective licensing coverage is street and property level (pre-May 2022 ward boundaries; Annexe B lists partial number ranges for many streets, and the council offers an individual-property address checker); exact coverage needs the council map. - No additional HMO licensing scheme was found through the council's site search ('additional licensing') or the committee document search (northlincolnshire.moderngov.co.uk: 'additional licensing', 'houses in multiple occupation', 'HMO licensing' return only licensing-act items and the 2024 selective licensing consultation report). Absence is inferred, not stated by the council. - The civil penalty guidance (revised 2023) has not been updated for the Renters' Rights Act 2025 maxima (£7,000 / £40,000). - The Scunthorpe HMO Article 4 direction is confirmed but not in force until 26 November 2026; after that date planning permission is needed for C3 to C4 change of use within the red-line area. ## Landlord register The national landlord register is separate from licensing. North Lincolnshire is in Yorkshire and The Humber, where registration is planned from 15 April 2027 to 14 July 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Read about the register: https://lettance.com/register --- From Lettance: https://lettance.com/councils/north-lincolnshire (catalogue edition 31 October 2026). This is information, not legal advice. Check the linked sources, and the council's own pages, before you act.