Brighton Selective Licensing Wards: Kemptown, Queens Park, Whitehawk and Moulsecoomb

The Four Active Selective Licensing Wards

Brighton and Hove's selective licensing scheme (Scheme 1) covers four specific electoral wards:

1. Kemptown
2. Moulsecoomb & Bevendean
3. Queens Park
4. Whitehawk & Marina

The scheme started on 2 September 2024 and runs until 1 September 2029. Every privately rented property in these wards that doesn't already require an HMO licence needs a selective licence — unless a statutory exemption or a granted Temporary Exemption Notice applies — whether it's let to a single person, a couple, a family, or three to four people in a single-storey flat.

Why Postcodes Aren't Reliable

One of the biggest traps is assuming that a BN2 postcode automatically means you're in a licensing ward. It doesn't work that way. Brighton's ward boundaries were realigned during recent electoral changes, and postcode areas don't follow the same lines.

A property at the edge of Kemptown ward might share a postcode with an address in a neighbouring ward that has no selective licensing at all. The only reliable method is checking the council's official ward boundary map using your full street address, not just the first few characters of a postcode.

Properties that sit on a ward boundary — where the building footprint crosses the line — are determined by the primary council tax address of the residential structure.

What About Central Hove and Regency?

The council designated Central Hove and Regency as additional selective licensing wards in July 2026, with a planned start date of 20 October 2026. A legal challenge halted the rollout before it took effect.

While the judicial review is pending, landlords with properties in Central Hove and Regency have no licensing obligation under the selective scheme. The four original wards remain active and fully enforceable. If the expansion eventually proceeds, the council will announce any new start date and application arrangements.

How to Check Your Property

The council maintains online geographic tools that let you verify exactly which ward a specific address falls in. You can also check whether a property already appears on the public licensing register.

Start with the address — not the postcode. If the address sits in Kemptown, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queens Park, or Whitehawk & Marina, and the property is privately rented, a selective licence is required unless an exemption or granted Temporary Exemption Notice applies (if it qualifies as an HMO, the HMO licence takes priority).

For a step-by-step address verification process and the full decision sequence for working out which licence type applies, the Brighton and Hove Landlord Licensing Guide covers every scenario.

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