How to Apply for a Selective Licence in Middlesbrough

The application is normally online. If you need an alternative paper format, contact the Private Sector Housing Team. The real work happens before you hit submit: Middlesbrough Council's non-refundable fee policy means that a rejected application for missing documents costs you up to £998 with nothing to show for it.

Before You Start

Confirm three things:

1. The correct designation. Your property falls under either Newport 1 (Phase 2) or Newport 2. These are separate schemes with separate application portals and different fees. Use the council's address checker — do not guess from the postcode.

2. Your documents are current. You need a gas safety certificate (issued within the last 12 months), an EICR with a "Satisfactory" assessment (issued within the last 5 years), and an EPC at Grade E or above. If any of these has expired or is missing, get it sorted before you apply.

3. Your fit-and-proper declarations are ready. Both the proposed licence holder and any named managing agent must complete a declaration covering criminal history, housing law breaches, and discrimination findings. Newport 2 applications have a £20 fee per person checked.

The Application Process

Step 1 — Create a My Middlesbrough account. Go to my.middlesbrough.gov.uk and register. You need this account to submit the application, upload documents, and pay fees.

Step 2 — Choose the correct scheme. The portal has separate application routes for Newport 1 Phase 2 and Newport 2. Pick the one that matches your property's address. Getting this wrong means applying to the wrong scheme.

Step 3 — Complete the application form. The online form asks for the property address, details of the proposed licence holder, details of any managing agent, the number of occupants and their household relationships, and tenancy start dates.

Step 4 — Upload your documents. Gas safety certificate, EICR, EPC, and a signed declaration about smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. HMO applicants also need scale floor plans. Upload PDF copies — agent intake forms and generic worksheets are not accepted.

Step 5 — Notify relevant persons. Before or on the day you submit, you must serve written notice on all relevant persons: the freeholder, any leaseholder, mortgage lenders, managing agents, and joint owners. You must certify in the portal that you have done this.

Step 6 — Pay the Part 1 fee. Newport 2 applicants pay £878 in full. Newport 1 Phase 2 applicants pay £499 as the Part 1 fee. The application is not processed until payment clears.

Step 7 — Wait for determination. The council reviews your application, checks your documents, and runs the fit-and-proper assessment. If everything is in order, they issue a Notice of Intention to Grant. Newport 1 Phase 2 applicants then pay the £499 Part 2 fee before the licence is formally issued.

"Duly Made" Protection

Once your application is complete — all forms filled, all documents uploaded, Part 1 fee paid — it is classified as "duly made." Under Section 95(3) of the Housing Act 2004, a duly made application gives you statutory protection against prosecution for operating without a licence while the application is pending. This does not protect you against enforcement for poor housing conditions or HHSRS hazards — just the licensing offence itself.

Common Rejection Reasons

• Expired gas safety certificate
• EICR missing or showing an "Unsatisfactory" result
• EPC below Grade E
• Wrong scheme selected (Newport 1 when it should be Newport 2)
• Incomplete fit-and-proper declarations
• Failure to notify relevant persons

Each of these results in rejection, and the fee is not refunded.

For a pre-flight checklist that covers every document and declaration step, see our Middlesbrough Landlord Licensing Guide.

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