Nottingham City Council says its landlord licensing schemes generated £114.9 million in social value from a £24.9 million investment between 2020 and 2024, a new independent report has found.
The council says that works out at £4.62 of value for every £1 spent across its selective, additional and mandatory licensing schemes. The study is being presented as the first Social Return on Investment review of private rented sector licensing in England, and it lands as more councils weigh wider licensing powers and landlords face rising compliance costs.
For landlords, the timing matters because councils are under pressure to justify licensing financially as well as politically. Nottingham’s report will now be watched by other local authorities looking for evidence to support fresh schemes, fee changes or broader enforcement programmes.
Nottingham says selective licensing reached 7,400 unlicensed landlords
According to the report, Nottingham’s licensing operation issued more than 33,000 licences and carried out over 30,000 inspections and investigations during the five-year period. The council says more than 7,400 unlicensed landlords were brought into compliance and more than 14,500 renters benefited directly from housing improvements.
The study also claims £91 million of social value came from better health, safety and wellbeing outcomes for tenants. Nottingham says licensed areas saw a 48 percent reduction in anti-social behaviour and a 45 percent fall in waste complaints, while 36 percent of landlords reported better knowledge of their legal responsibilities.
Councillor Jay Hayes, executive member for housing and planning at Nottingham City Council, said the report moved the debate beyond whether licensing works and toward what it delivers on the ground. He said the findings showed good landlords were supported through clearer standards, training and enforcement against poor practice.
Why the numbers matter beyond Nottingham
Licensing has long split opinion in the private rented sector. Supporters argue it helps weed out criminal or negligent operators and raises standards in poorer quality stock. Critics say large schemes can become expensive compliance exercises for responsible landlords while doing less than promised on the worst offenders.
That makes Nottingham’s framing important. The report is not arguing that licensing pays landlords back directly. Instead, it values wider gains to tenants, neighbourhoods and public services including avoided NHS, police and fire service pressures. For councils preparing new designations, that gives them a ready-made case that the benefit of licensing should be judged more broadly than fee income or prosecution numbers alone.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s exclusive report on £5.2 million in landlord fines disclosed by English councils, which showed how uneven enforcement remains across the country. Combined with County Durham’s move toward broader landlord licensing from 2027, the Nottingham report suggests more councils are trying to build a stronger political and financial case for wider intervention in the PRS.
Landlords should also note what the report does not settle. Social value models depend on assumptions about avoided harm and public service savings, so the £4.62 return figure is likely to be challenged by parts of the sector. Even so, once a council can point to an independent model and a five-year evidence base, it becomes easier for other authorities to defend licence fees and tougher enforcement in future consultations.
The full Nottingham briefing and the longer Social Return on Investment report are now public on the council’s website. That means landlord groups, agents and portfolio investors can examine the workings before similar arguments appear in their own local consultation papers or renewal schemes. The primary report is available on Nottingham City Council’s housing licensing pages.
What this means for landlords
- If you own rentals in licensing areas: expect councils to use broader social impact claims, not just inspection or prosecution numbers, when defending fees and scheme renewals.
- Watch for: consultation papers that cite Nottingham as evidence that licensing cuts anti-social behaviour, waste complaints and pressure on local services.
- Bottom line: Nottingham’s figures will strengthen the hand of councils that want to expand or retain selective licensing, even if landlords dispute the assumptions behind the headline return.
Editor’s view
Nottingham has handed councils a useful political document at exactly the right moment. Landlords should read it closely, because even if they disagree with the maths, the report gives licensing advocates a sharper argument than they had before.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 28 May 2026
Sources: Nottingham City Council, Social Impact Housing Licensing Nottingham – SROI Full Report, PRS Licensing social impact briefing
Related reading: Exclusive: FOI reveals £5.2m in landlord fines as six councils fail to disclose totals
