How to Apply for a Selective Licence in Leeds: The Application Process

Before You Start the Portal

The biggest mistake landlords make is opening the Council's online portal before assembling every required document. The portal times out, uploads fail, and an incomplete submission is not "duly made" — meaning you are still exposed to enforcement even though you have started the process.

Prepare everything offline first, then submit in one sitting.

The People on the Application

A selective licence application names up to three people:

• The applicant — the person filling in the form
• The proposed licence holder — the person or company with legal control of the property (typically the freeholder or major leaseholder), who must be UK-resident or a registered UK company
• The property manager — whoever handles day-to-day operations (often the same person as the licence holder for self-managing landlords)

The applicant and proposed manager must complete the fit and proper person declaration. Appointing a managing agent does not relieve the owner of statutory liability.

Notifying Interested Parties

Before submitting, you must serve written notice on every "interested party" — mortgage lenders, freeholders, head-lessors, joint owners and anyone with a legal interest exceeding a three-year leasehold. This is a legal requirement under the Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Other Houses (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) Regulations 2006. Keep copies of every notice.

Required Documents

Upload these with the application:

1. Gas Safety Record (CP12) — current, issued by a Gas Safe registered engineer, covering all landlord-provided gas appliances
2. Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) — satisfactory, no C1 or C2 faults, valid for five years
3. Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) — Band E minimum (or a valid exemption registered on the PRS Exemptions Register)
4. Fire safety risk assessment plus confirmation of mains-powered or 10-year sealed-battery smoke alarms on every storey and carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with solid fuel or gas appliances
5. Scaled floor plans — room dimensions in square metres, ceiling heights, window openings, fire exits, kitchen and sanitary facility locations
6. Written tenancy agreement — draft or active, showing deposit protection details

Submitting and Paying Stage 1

Once documents are ready, complete the online form on the Council's services portal. Pay the £400 Stage 1 fee (or £525 for paper applications). The application is classified as "duly made" only when the form is complete, all documents are attached and the Stage 1 fee has cleared.

Being duly made matters because under Sections 72(8) and 95(7) of the Housing Act 2004, a landlord with a duly made application has statutory protection against prosecution for unlicensed letting while the application is being processed.

After Submission

The Council reviews the application, runs the fit and proper person test and may request additional information. When it decides to grant the licence, it sends a notice of intent and an invoice for the £700 Stage 2 fee (£550 if you qualified for the LRS discount). The licence is issued after Stage 2 payment.

Any selective licence granted under this scheme expires on 8 February 2031 at the latest, regardless of when it was issued.

Our Landlord Licensing in Leeds guide covers the full application sequence with a document staging checklist, template language for the interested-party notices and a walkthrough of the portal itself.

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