Liverpool Landlord Licensing Fees and Discounts: The Full Breakdown

The Two-Part Fee Structure

Liverpool splits every licensing fee into two payments, following the legal framework established in Hemming v Westminster City Council. The Part 1 fee covers the council's cost of processing your application and is paid at submission. The Part 2 fee funds ongoing compliance monitoring, inspections, and enforcement — it's invoiced after approval, and the licence isn't formally issued until it's paid.

This matters because the Part 1 fee is non-refundable. If your application is refused on fit-and-proper grounds or property standards, you don't get that money back. The Part 2 fee is only charged if the licence is granted.

Current Selective Licensing Fees (2022–2027 Scheme)

The standard full fee is £704 (£232.32 Part 1 + £471.68 Part 2). Most landlords who applied after the initial window pay this rate.

Discounted tiers exist for properties that qualify as "new rentals" — brought onto the private rented market after 31 July 2022 with an application submitted before or within 14 days of the tenancy starting, or purchased with sitting tenants and applied within 14 days of completion:

• New rental property: £486 (£233.28 + £252.72)
• New rental + EPC rating C or above: £422
• New rental + multiple flats in the same block: £422
• New rental + accredited landlord membership: £449
• New rental + EPC C + multi-flat: £358
• New rental + EPC C + accredited membership: £385
• New rental + multi-flat + accredited membership: £385
• Maximum combined discount: £321 (new rental + EPC C + multi-flat + membership)

Properties let through the council's homelessness duty scheme are exempt from fees entirely.

The Accreditation Discount

For a property that qualifies for the New Rental Property fee, the professional membership discount knocks £37 off. Liverpool recognises five bodies: the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), Propertymark, Safeagents, Liverpool Student Homes, and the North West Property Owners Association. Your membership number is cross-checked during processing — if it can't be verified, the discount is revoked and you pay the standard rate. Retrospective claims aren't accepted.

For a single eligible new-rental property, the £37 saving against an NRLA membership fee of £85–£105 doesn't make the numbers work on its own. But for portfolio landlords, it compounds: five eligible properties at £37 each saves £185 per licensing cycle.

Mandatory HMO Fees

Larger shared houses (five or more occupants, two or more households) fall under mandatory HMO licensing with a separate fee scale:

• Up to 5 occupants: £1,328 (£489.10 Part 1 + £838.90 Part 2)
• 6 occupants: £1,449
• 7 occupants: £1,570

HMO fees increase incrementally with occupant count. The HMO schedule is separate; confirm any available discounts with Liverpool City Council.

What Happens If You Don't Pay

Operating without a licence isn't a calculated risk worth taking. For offences committed on or after 1 May 2026, civil penalties can reach £40,000 per offence (up from the previous £30,000 cap), and qualifying rent repayment orders can cover up to 24 months' rent through the First-tier Tribunal. Earlier RRO offences remain subject to the previous one-year cap. The combined exposure from a single unlicensed property can easily exceed the licence fee by a factor of fifty.

The Proposed 2027 Fees

Liverpool's consultation for the 2027–2032 replacement scheme proposed a base licence fee of £995. The December 2026 Cabinet decision will confirm the final fee structure and any discount tiers. Until then, do not assume that early-application or accreditation discounts from the current scheme will carry over.

Making the Fee Work Harder

If your property meets the new-rental criteria, submit the application before the tenancy starts or within 14 days after occupation; a buyer of a tenanted property must apply within 14 days of completion. For eligible new-rental properties, an EPC rating of C or above saves £64. For an eligible new-rental application, the £64 multi-flat discount applies if all flats in the same block are licensed by the same licence holder. And if you're not already a member of an accredited body, run the numbers on the NRLA or NWPOA against the per-property savings across your portfolio.

Our Liverpool Landlord Licensing Guide includes a Fee Calculator Worksheet that maps every discount combination to your specific situation, plus the full Part 1/Part 2 payment timeline.

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