Council licensing in North West

Licensing in Sefton

Sefton has selective licensing in part of the council area and additional HMO licensing in part of the council area.

Checked 15 Oct 2026

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Licensing, ward by ward

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May be covered: check the council's map22

Current ward boundaries from ONS. Some homes are exempt, so check your postcode and the scheme details below.

Selective licensing: Part of the council area
Additional HMO licensing: Yes, part of the council area
Article 4 on house shares: Yes
Consultation: None open

Licensing schemes

Selective licence
In force
Bootle selective licensing designation 2023–2028
Area
The designated part of Bootle, delineated by the current council-linked red boundary map and numbered-road schedule. The map was visually inspected: cuts across legacy Linacre/Derby/Litherland ward boundaries and is not all Bootle or any assumed whole current ward. Published schedule includes partial Aintree Road (1–29 odd/2–64 even), Breeze Hill (1–39 odd/36–48 even), and other numbered exceptions. Check the exact address against the full current list and map; a road name alone does not establish that every property on that road is included. Map retains a proposed re-designation legend despite current scheme-page linkage.
Runs
1 March 2023 to 27 February 2028
Fee
Published standard fee: £695
Current operational page: £695 standard, £545 qualifying accreditation, £495 where an accredited managing agent is licence holder. Property accreditation or NRLA accreditation can qualify; NRLA membership alone cannot. One eligible discount. £30 for each additional same-owner unit within the same building. £150 application fee, remaining balance requested at draft stage within 14 days. The council states fees are not tied to the unexpired period and no refund on sale/cancellation; stated mistaken application exceptions are outside area, duplicate or exempt property. No live early-bird rate established. The official 2026/27 Housing and Investment fees report retains the current scheme fee, £30 additional-unit charge and £150/£200 accreditation reductions.
Who needs one
Privately rented houses/flats within the designated Bootle area, including single-household and smaller HMO accommodation where not required to hold a mandatory/additional Part 2 HMO licence, subject to statutory exemptions. Council says selective includes accommodation of different descriptions, not only one tenancy type.
Exemptions
Public notice excludes licensable HMOs and statutory exempt tenancies/licences. Current council list includes mandatory/additional HMO requirements, temporary exemptions, management orders, qualifying public/social bodies, specified regulated/student accommodation, business/agricultural tenancies, holiday homes and qualified resident-landlord/relative arrangements. Exact statutory eligibility must be checked.
Apply on the council’s website Licence conditions Council's map or designation
How we checked this
Council public legal notice made 18 October 2022 starts 1 March 2023 and says it ceases to have effect on 28 February 2028. The listed last operative day is therefore 27 February 2028, treating cessation on 28 February as exclusive. Both live scheme pages instead say up until 29 February 2028 and describe five years. These statements disagree about the final day, including the leap day in 2028. Confirm the final inclusive date with the council before relying on it. Application grace period to 1 September 2023 has passed; it is not current permission to let unlicensed. Licences are non-transferable; UK-resident licence holder required, so an overseas landlord should appoint a suitable UK representative. The 2023 schemes replaced the 2018 cycle; that earlier cycle is outside the previous twelve-month expiry window. A current forward-plan Landlord Licensing Business Case (first published 31 July 2026, For Determination, decision due 5 November 2026 in the published forward plan) considers extensions, with public consultation only after Cabinet approval. This is not an approved successor designation or a presently open consultation. The current future-plan ward labels do not redefine the existing legal boundary. No other approved future licensing area, live licensing consultation or optional scheme expired since 15 October 2025 was established in targeted primary searches.
Sources
Additional HMO licence
In force
Sefton additional HMO licensing 2023–2028 — section 254 shared HMOs
Area
Two mapped areas: central Southport, and parts of Seaforth, Waterloo and Brighton-le-Sands. Current linked Southport and Seaforth/Waterloo maps were rendered and visually inspected against their published road schedules. They contain property-level turns and partial roads, so neither whole wards nor entire named towns/through-roads are asserted. Southport schedule includes Cambridge, Duke's and Kew labels; southern schedule includes Church/Blundellsands legacy labels. Exact premises must be checked against the relevant map and current numbered-road list. Maps retain a proposed legend despite being linked by the operative 2023–2028 page.
Runs
1 March 2023 to 27 February 2028
Fee
Published standard fee: £950
Current page publishes £950 standard, £800 qualifying accreditation, £750 where a Sefton-accredited managing agent is licence holder. Accreditation means property accreditation or qualifying NRLA accreditation; membership alone does not qualify. One eligible discount only. £30 per additional unit under the same proposed licence holder's control within one building. £250 on application, balance requested at draft-licence stage within 14 days. No general early-bird offer. Full fee/shorter remaining period is not prorated; only mistaken outside-area/duplicate/exempt applications qualify for stated refunds. Current page's first annual/weekly table misstates £950's weekly equivalent as £2.88; the repeated table says £3.65. The £950 licence total is used here; the inconsistent annualised figures are not licence charges. The official 2026/27 Housing and Investment fees report retains the current scheme fee, £30 additional-unit charge and £150/£200 accreditation reductions.
Who needs one
Section 254 HMOs within the two mapped areas, occupied by at least three people forming at least two households and not requiring mandatory licensing. This includes ordinary three/four-person shared houses/flats and relevant other non-mandatory HMO classes. Section 257 converted blocks are handled by the separate conditional property-class row under the same designation.
Exemptions
Current exemptions list mandatory-HMO licensed properties, interim/final management orders, temporary exemptions and qualifying Schedule 14/public/social/regulated/student/religious/owner-occupier/two-person buildings. Precise statutory tests apply; exclusions can operate differently for section 257 converted blocks, so ordinary owner-occupier wording must not be applied blindly.
Apply on the council’s website Licence conditions Council's map or designation
How we checked this
Council public legal notice made 18 October 2022 starts 1 March 2023 and says it ceases to have effect on 28 February 2028. The listed last operative day is therefore 27 February 2028, treating cessation on 28 February as exclusive. Both live scheme pages instead say up until 29 February 2028 and describe five years. These statements disagree about the final day, including the leap day in 2028. Confirm the final inclusive date with the council before relying on it. The Southport and Seaforth/Waterloo/Brighton-le-Sands areas are one legal additional designation, not whole towns or all current wards. Ordinary smaller shared HMOs in the mapped areas are expressly covered; they do not need to satisfy the separate converted-block tests. Converted blocks are subject to different property eligibility tests within the same legal scheme. The 2023 schemes replaced the 2018 cycle; that earlier cycle is outside the previous twelve-month expiry window. A current forward-plan Landlord Licensing Business Case (first published 31 July 2026, For Determination, decision due 5 November 2026 in the published forward plan) considers extensions, with public consultation only after Cabinet approval. This is not an approved successor designation or a presently open consultation. The current future-plan ward labels do not redefine the existing legal boundary. No other approved future licensing area, live licensing consultation or optional scheme expired since 15 October 2025 was established in targeted primary searches.
Sources
Additional HMO licence
In forceMedium confidence
Sefton additional HMO licensing 2023–2028 — section 257 converted blocks
Area
Two mapped areas: central Southport, and parts of Seaforth, Waterloo and Brighton-le-Sands. Current linked Southport and Seaforth/Waterloo maps were rendered and visually inspected against their published road schedules. They contain property-level turns and partial roads, so neither whole wards nor entire named towns/through-roads are asserted. Southport schedule includes Cambridge, Duke's and Kew labels; southern schedule includes Church/Blundellsands legacy labels. Exact premises must be checked against the relevant map and current numbered-road list. Maps retain a proposed legend despite being linked by the operative 2023–2028 page.
Runs
1 March 2023 to 27 February 2028
Fee
Published standard fee: £950
Current page publishes £950 standard, £800 qualifying accreditation, £750 where a Sefton-accredited managing agent is licence holder. Accreditation means property accreditation or qualifying NRLA accreditation; membership alone does not qualify. One eligible discount only. £30 per additional unit under the same proposed licence holder's control within one building. £250 on application, balance requested at draft-licence stage within 14 days. No general early-bird offer. Full fee/shorter remaining period is not prorated; only mistaken outside-area/duplicate/exempt applications qualify for stated refunds. Current page's first annual/weekly table misstates £950's weekly equivalent as £2.88; the repeated table says £3.65. The £950 licence total is used here; the inconsistent annualised figures are not licence charges. The official 2026/27 Housing and Investment fees report retains the current scheme fee, £30 additional-unit charge and £150/£200 accreditation reductions.
Who needs one
Qualifying section 257 converted buildings within the same two mapped additional-licensing areas. Current council notice/page describes self-contained conversions not complying with 1991 building regulations and more than one-third of flats rented on short-term tenancies. Assess the statutory conversion/continuing-compliance and owner-occupation tests for the actual building; a fee example does not establish eligibility. Individual flats may independently need an HMO licence.
Exemptions
Current exemptions list mandatory-HMO licensed properties, interim/final management orders, temporary exemptions and qualifying Schedule 14/public/social/regulated/student/religious/owner-occupier/two-person buildings. Precise statutory tests apply; exclusions can operate differently for section 257 converted blocks, so ordinary owner-occupier wording must not be applied blindly.
Apply on the council’s website Licence conditions Council's map or designation
How we checked this
Council public legal notice made 18 October 2022 starts 1 March 2023 and says it ceases to have effect on 28 February 2028. The listed last operative day is therefore 27 February 2028, treating cessation on 28 February as exclusive. Both live scheme pages instead say up until 29 February 2028 and describe five years. These statements disagree about the final day, including the leap day in 2028. Confirm the final inclusive date with the council before relying on it. The geographical boundary is the same as for ordinary shared HMOs. The converted-block tests apply specifically to buildings meeting section 257, rather than every small shared house. The published exemptions summary contains generic owner-occupier wording; check statutory section 257 qualifications before relying on it. Supplementary £30 unit charges depend on actual control/licence-holder arrangements, not an assumed occupant/bedroom count. The 2023 schemes replaced the 2018 cycle; that earlier cycle is outside the previous twelve-month expiry window. A current forward-plan Landlord Licensing Business Case (first published 31 July 2026, For Determination, decision due 5 November 2026 in the published forward plan) considers extensions, with public consultation only after Cabinet approval. This is not an approved successor designation or a presently open consultation. The current future-plan ward labels do not redefine the existing legal boundary. No other approved future licensing area, live licensing consultation or optional scheme expired since 15 October 2025 was established in targeted primary searches.
Sources
Mandatory HMO licence
In force
Mandatory HMO licensing
Area
Whole Sefton Council district, including areas outside the optional housing-licensing designations. Borough-wide HMO planning controls are a separate regime.
Fee
Published standard fee: £950
Live mandatory page explicitly labels rates from 1 April 2023 and still publishes new £950, qualifying accreditation £800, accredited managing-agent licence holder £750; renewal £900/£750/£700 respectively. One eligible discount, not cumulative. £30 per additional unit under the same licence holder's control within the same building. £250 application payment and remaining balance at draft-licence stage. Page says £950 total; duplicated annual/weekly table contains a mistaken £2.88 weekly equivalent, not a different fee. The official 2026/27 Housing and Investment fees report with a 13 February 2026 decision date retains the £950 new fee, £900 timely renewal, £30 additional-unit charge and £150/£200 accreditation reductions. A late renewal is £950.
Who needs one
HMOs with five or more occupants forming two or more households, sharing a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, or with basic facilities provided outside their individual accommodation unit, subject to the prescribed-description and statutory exclusions.
Exemptions
Statutory HMO exclusions apply; the current page refers applicants to the council HMO guidance rather than establishing a property-specific exemption.
Apply on the council’s website Licence conditions
How we checked this
Maximum normal licence period is five years; property-specific conditions and term govern. Fit and proper holder/manager, accommodation and management arrangements must satisfy the council. Current mandatory page includes worked examples referring to section 257 buildings; a wholly self-contained converted block is not made mandatory-licensable solely by that fee example. Separate additional/section 257 tests and any individual HMO flat must be assessed. Standard conditions PDF is the currently linked April 2021 document, not a newly issued property licence. The 2023 schemes replaced the 2018 cycle; that earlier cycle is outside the previous twelve-month expiry window. A current forward-plan Landlord Licensing Business Case (first published 31 July 2026, For Determination, decision due 5 November 2026 in the published forward plan) considers extensions, with public consultation only after Cabinet approval. This is not an approved successor designation or a presently open consultation. The current future-plan ward labels do not redefine the existing legal boundary. No other approved future licensing area, live licensing consultation or optional scheme expired since 15 October 2025 was established in targeted primary searches. The currently linked February 2018 FAQ expressly says mandatory licences ordinarily last five years; its historical optional-scheme dates and sanction prose are not used for current rules.
Sources

Article 4 for house shares

Sefton has an Article 4 direction on HMOs (houses in multiple occupation, or shared houses). Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission.

Area: All Sefton is now covered collectively by separate directions removing permitted development rights for changes from a dwellinghouse (C3) to a small HMO (C4). This is separate from housing licensing. The older direction for mapped parts of Bootle, Litherland, Seaforth, Waterloo and central Southport took effect on 20 September 2018, following confirmation on 21 June 2018. The Aintree immediate direction took effect on 2 July 2025 and was confirmed by Cabinet on 4 December 2025. The direction for all remaining areas took effect on 15 October 2025 and was confirmed on 5 February 2026. The current planning page and confirmation notices support continuing coverage. The earliest date shown below applies to the older areas; the whole borough was not covered from that date. Refer to the separate legal plans for an exact property.
Takes effect: 20 Sept 2018

Council source

Civil penalty policy

The council's policy sets how it decides the size of a fine. The version we found has been updated for the Renters' Rights Act.

Cabinet approved the new Housing Standards and Tenancy Enforcement Policy and Civil Penalty Policy on 4 June 2026. The council's current policy page says the new policies apply to offences committed on or after 1 May 2026, with earlier policies retained for earlier offences; approval and application dates are distinct. The page links final versions dated July 2026. The current civil penalty policy includes Renters' Rights Act offences and relevant statutory maxima of £7,000 or £40,000. Starting points for failing to obtain a licence are £17,000 for an HMO and £12,000 for selective licensing, before adjustments for the landlord and circumstances. A 15% discount applies to full payment within the final-notice period, normally 28 days beginning the day after the notice is given. An appeal does not extend the discount period. The £30,000 wording in the 2022 licensing notices is historical.

Sefton's civil penalty policy

Consultations

We found no consultations when we researched Sefton.

Not yet confirmed

We could not settle these points when we researched Sefton on 15 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

Not yet confirmed
Confirm the final inclusive day for both optional schemes: the legal notices say they cease on 28 February 2028, giving a listed last operative day of 27 February, while current webpages say 29 February 2028 and describe five years.
Not yet confirmed
Exact addresses require current legal maps and full numbered-road schedules. Current ward names differ from legacy labels; do not publish whole Linacre/Derby/Church wards or whole listed boundary roads as covered.
Not yet confirmed
Monitor the proposed Landlord Licensing Business Case, listed for a Cabinet decision on 5 November 2026, with public consultation to follow approval. No approved successor boundary, start date, fee or open formal consultation was established.
Not yet confirmed
Confirm the actual invoice, eligibility for unit charges and accreditation discounts, and any later fee amendment. The official 2026/27 schedule corroborates the published scheme fees and timely mandatory renewal rate.
Not yet confirmed
Confirm section 257 building eligibility, continuing relevant building-regulation compliance, ownership/short-tenancy proportion and exclusions rather than inferring it from generic exemptions or worked fee examples.
Not yet confirmed
Verify the precise individual licence term and any superseding conditions; published current templates/standard conditions do not prove a particular property is authorised.
Not yet confirmed
Confirm case-specific transitional treatment and any later delegated policy changes. Cabinet approval was in June 2026; the final July 2026 policies state that they apply to offences committed from 1 May 2026.

Landlord register

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Sefton is in North West, where registration is planned from 15 May 2027 to 14 August 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Read about the register