Leicester Selective Licensing by Ward: Braunstone Park, Fosse, Westcotes, Stoneygate and Saffron

Leicester's selective licensing scheme does not apply uniformly across each ward. Boundaries run through specific streets and address ranges, and each of the five designated areas has a different housing profile. Here is what landlords need to know about each ward's coverage.

Braunstone Park & Rowley Fields

The West Cluster's southernmost section covers parts of Braunstone Park & Rowley Fields ward. This area includes streets of interwar social housing stock that has since moved into private ownership. Many properties here are let as single-family homes to working tenants. The designation boundary covers specific address ranges — not the entire ward — so properties near a boundary may fall outside the scheme entirely. Check each address against the council map or schedule.

Landlords in this area often manage one or two properties they inherited or bought at auction. The council targeted this ward partly because of property condition data showing higher rates of disrepair and damp in the private rented stock.

Fosse

Fosse ward, in Leicester's west, includes sections of Fosse Road North and Fosse Road South — key arteries connecting the city centre to the west. The selective licensing boundary covers dense terraced housing along these roads and the streets running between them. Much of this stock dates from the late Victorian and Edwardian periods, with a mix of single-family lets and houses split into bedsits or small HMOs.

Fosse has a significant student population due to its proximity to De Montfort University. However, student houses with five or more occupants from separate households need a mandatory HMO licence (city-wide), not a selective licence. The selective scheme here primarily captures single-family lets, couples and small shared houses with two to four tenants.

Westcotes

Immediately south of Fosse, Westcotes ward covers streets around Narborough Road and Braunstone Gate — Leicester's most visible commercial high street on the west side. The terraced housing either side of Narborough Road is overwhelmingly privately rented, with a high turnover of tenants and a diverse population.

Westcotes is also covered by Leicester's Article 4 Direction (in force since August 2014), which removes permitted development rights for converting a C3 dwelling into a C4 small HMO. Landlords here face a double compliance requirement: a selective licence for any private let inside the mapped licensing area, plus planning permission for a C3-to-C4 change of use where the Article 4 Direction applies. Having a licence does not grant planning consent, and having planning consent does not exempt you from licensing.

Stoneygate

The East Cluster covers parts of Stoneygate ward, concentrated around the streets near Evington Road and London Road. This area has a mix of larger Victorian and Edwardian houses, many of which were originally single-family homes and have since been converted into shared lets. Stoneygate is popular with students from both the University of Leicester and De Montfort University.

The selective licensing boundary in Stoneygate is more tightly drawn than in the West Cluster. Not all streets between London Road and Evington Road are covered, so verification through the Aurora map is particularly important here.

Saffron

Saffron ward, south of the city centre, is the South Cluster of the scheme. The designated streets here were targeted based on deprivation indicators, including income deprivation, poor property conditions and higher rates of housing complaints. The housing stock is predominantly post-war terraces and semi-detached homes.

Saffron has a smaller proportion of HMOs compared to Fosse or Westcotes, so most licensable properties here are single-family lets. The selective licence cost — £1,290 in total — is the same regardless of ward.

The Same Rules Apply Everywhere

Although each ward has different housing characteristics, the licensing requirements are identical within the designated parts of all five. The fee is £1,290 (£1,032 Stage 1, £258 Stage 2). The application goes through the same online portal. The same documents are required: gas safety certificate, EICR, EPC, fire safety declaration, floor plans, tenancy agreement and a Fit and Proper Person declaration dated within three months.

The Landlord Licensing in Leicester guide covers the boundary verification process and application steps for every ward in the scheme.

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