Birmingham Council Licensing Contact: How to Reach the Private Housing Team

When your licence application gets stuck, the portal throws an error mid-submission, or you need to check the status of a pending file, you need to reach Birmingham City Council's Private Rented Sector Licensing team directly. The contact details are straightforward, but the council's own web pages scatter them across multiple sections — here they are in one place.

Direct Contact Details

Email: [email protected] — this is the dedicated licensing team inbox for selective licensing, additional HMO licensing and mandatory HMO licensing queries.

Phone: 0121 303 5070 — the Private Rented Sector Licensing team line.

Postal address: Private Rented Sector Licensing, Birmingham City Council, PO Box 18558, Birmingham B2 2DS.

The email address handles general enquiries, application status checks, technical portal problems, document follow-ups and queries about licensing conditions. Response times vary — the council's own guidance says to allow 28 days from submission before chasing an application status.

When to Contact the Licensing Team

Portal technical errors. If you hit an error during the online application process — form submission failures, upload problems, payment processing issues — the council's selective licensing guidance page directs you to email [email protected]. The licensing portal does not have a live chat function.

Application status checks. Once you have submitted your application and paid the Stage 1 fee, the council processes and validates it before issuing a draft decision. If you receive no communication within 28 days of submission, the council advises contacting the licensing team to verify your application's status. Keep your portal reference number handy.

Document requests. The council may contact you to request additional or updated documents — a renewed gas safety certificate, corrected floor plans, or proof of accreditation for fee discount purposes. If you are unsure what the team needs, email with your portal reference and property address.

Temporary exemption notices. There is no standard form on the portal for a temporary exemption notice. You initiate the process by contacting the licensing team directly.

Complaints about licensed or unlicensed properties. Tenants and neighbours can report properties they believe are operating without a licence to the same email address. The licensing enforcement team uses these reports alongside proactive inspection programmes.

The Public Register

If you need to check whether a specific property in Birmingham is licensed, the council maintains a statutory public register on the MetaStreet platform at birmingham.metastreet.co.uk/public-register. The register shows property addresses, licence holder names, managing agent details, occupancy limits and licence expiry dates.

The public register is separate from the licensing application portal. You do not need an account to search it.

What the Licensing Team Cannot Help With

The Private Rented Sector Licensing team handles Housing Act 2004 licensing. They do not handle:

• Planning permission queries (including Article 4 direction and C4 HMO applications) — contact the Planning department separately
• Council tax — a different department
• Tenant disputes or eviction processes — the licensing team does not mediate between landlords and tenants
• National PRS database registration (launching December 2026) — this is a central government system, not a council function

For the full licensing process — which licence your property needs, the documents to prepare, the two-stage fee structure and the ongoing conditions — our Birmingham Landlord Licensing Guide walks through everything step by step.

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