How Long Does a Salford Landlord Licence Application Take?

You've gathered your certificates, got your Basic DBS disclosures, paid the Part A fee, and submitted everything through Salford's portal. Now you wait — and the waiting is where most landlords start worrying about whether they're operating legally.

The Short Answer

Salford City Council's published target is 30 working days for a valid selective licence application and 60 working days for a valid HMO licence application, including Section 257. The council says these timeframes are liable to change. Anecdotally, straightforward applications with complete documentation take several weeks to a few months from submission to the "Minded to Grant" notice. Complex cases — especially mandatory HMOs with multiple occupants or Section 257 buildings requiring additional checks — can take longer.

The volume of applications matters. When a new scheme launches (like the Broughton, Kersal & Broughton Park selective scheme that started 21 January 2026), the licensing team receives a surge of applications. Processing times stretch during these peaks.

What Happens During Processing

After you submit your application and pay the Part A fee, the council works through a validation sequence:

1. Document check — the team verifies that all required uploads are present: Gas Safety Certificate, EICR (satisfactory), EPC (E or higher), floor plans (for HMOs), alarm declarations, and tenancy agreement templates
2. Fit and proper person assessment — background checks against the declarations you made for both the licence holder and the managing agent
3. Statutory notice verification — confirming that you've served the required Schedule 2 notifications on freeholders, mortgagees, and co-owners
4. Property assessment — for HMOs, checking occupancy limits, room sizes, and amenity provision against the uploaded floor plans

If anything is missing or unclear, the council contacts you — and the clock effectively stops until you respond. A single missing document can add weeks to the timeline.

Are You Legal While the Application Is Being Processed?

This is the critical question. Under Sections 72(4) and 95(3) of the Housing Act 2004, a property is treated as lawfully operated while a valid, complete application is pending. But "valid and complete" is the key phrase.

Submitting the portal form and paying Part A doesn't automatically protect you. Salford has confirmed that tacit consent does not apply — your application only counts as formally received once it contains all statutory documentation and the Part A fee, and the council has validated it as complete.

If the council comes back and says your application was incomplete (perhaps the EICR was unsatisfactory, or the DBS disclosure was more than three months old), you may not have been covered during the period you thought you were.

How to Speed Things Up

There's no way to rush the council, but you can avoid the delays that are within your control:

• Get every document ready before you start Step One on the portal. DBS disclosures must be dated within the last three months, so order them early but not too early
• Upload clear, legible scans — the team has to read every certificate. Blurry phone photos of Gas Safety Certificates cause needless back-and-forth
• Serve your statutory notices before submitting — the portal asks you to declare that you've notified relevant persons (freeholders, mortgage lenders). Having that done in advance means you're not scrambling after submission
• Respond to council queries immediately — any request for additional information pauses your application

Minded to Grant, Then Part B

When the council is satisfied, they issue a "Minded to Grant" notice. You then pay the Part B grant fee (the second portion of the split fee), and the council issues the final licence.

Salford does not give a separate target for the gap after a "Minded to Grant" notice. Pay Part B promptly to avoid delaying the licence.

Temporary Exemption Notices

If you're in a situation where you've just acquired a property and need time before applying — perhaps you're selling a recently inherited property and don't intend to keep it as a rental — you can apply for a Temporary Exemption Notice (TEN). A TEN gives you three months of immunity from licensing offences, with a possible three-month extension in exceptional circumstances (six months maximum total).

A TEN is not a substitute for applying. It's a stopgap for landlords who are genuinely taking steps to ensure the property ceases to need a licence.

For the complete application process — what to prepare, how the three-step portal works, and what each fee covers — our Salford licensing guide walks through everything from address check to licence grant.

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