Leeds Selective Licensing Fees: Stage 1, Stage 2 and the LRS Discount

The Two-Stage Fee Structure

Leeds City Council splits selective licensing fees into two payments. You pay Stage 1 when you submit the application and Stage 2 when the Council is ready to grant the licence. The total is the same either way — it is the timing of when you pay the larger portion that changed in February 2026.

Current Fee Levels (Post-26 February 2026)

The Council re-apportioned the split on 26 February 2026. Before that date, online Stage 1 was £675 and Stage 2 was £425. The total stayed at £1,100 — the change shifted cost into Stage 2, lowering the upfront barrier but increasing the amount due at grant.

The £150 LRS Discount

Landlords with active Leeds Rental Standard (LRS), Unipol or NRLA accreditation at the time of submission receive a £150 discount on the Stage 2 fee. That reduces Stage 2 from £700 to £550, bringing the online total to £950.

The discount has strict conditions:

• The proposed licence holder (not their agent) must be the property owner
• The licence holder must personally hold active accreditation recognised under the LRS
• Accreditation must be in place before the Stage 1 submission — you cannot join LRS after applying and claim the discount retrospectively
• An agent's own accreditation does not qualify a non-accredited property owner

What Happens to Refunds

Stage 1 is non-refundable once the Council has started processing the application. If you withdraw, are rejected for persistent incompleteness, or fail the fit and proper test, the Council keeps Stage 1.

Stage 2 is only charged if the licence is going to be granted. If the application is refused before the licence is issued, Stage 2 is not collected. For applications processed under the old fee split (where Stage 2 was paid upfront), the Council issued a standard £275 refund on refusal.

No pro-rata refund on sale. If you sell the property during the five-year scheme, the outgoing licence holder does not receive any refund of either stage.

HMO Licence Fees for Comparison

Mandatory HMO licences (five or more tenants, two or more households, shared facilities) cost £975 across the whole of Leeds, reduced to £825 with LRS, Unipol or NRLA accreditation. The HMO licence also uses a two-stage payment structure.

Why the Fees Are Worth Getting Right First Time

An incomplete or rejected application means losing the Stage 1 fee with nothing to show for it. The most common cause is missing documents — Gas Safety Record, EICR, EPC, floor plans or the written notice to mortgage lenders.

Our Landlord Licensing in Leeds guide includes a pre-application document staging checklist so you can assemble everything offline before touching the portal.

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