Preston City Council has opened a consultation on a selective licensing scheme that would charge landlords £1,050 per property in three wards if approved. The proposal targets private rented homes in Deepdale, Fishwick and St Matthew’s and would add a fresh compliance cost in a city where local authorities say poor conditions are concentrated.
The consultation was launched on 30 July, with the council arguing that private rented homes in the three areas are more likely to contain damp, mould, excess cold, disrepair and other serious hazards. Its evidence says around 16 percent of privately rented properties in the target wards may contain Category 1 hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.
For landlords, the immediate issue is not just the fee itself. Selective licensing schemes change the cost base, expand paperwork and increase the chance of inspection-led enforcement. A £1,050 charge is also hard to shrug off in lower-yield portfolios unless rents, standards or exit plans are reviewed early.
Preston sets out £1,050 licensing proposal
The council says the scheme is aimed at improving property standards and management in parts of the city where housing conditions and deprivation pressures are more acute. If approved, landlords in the affected wards would need a selective licence for each property covered by the scheme.
That creates a sharper financial question for smaller landlords than the headline consultation language suggests. On a single property the fee may be absorbable, but on a cluster of homes it quickly becomes a material operating cost before any upgrade works, agent fees or mortgage pressure are added.
Selective licensing also tends to widen the practical burden beyond the fee. Landlords usually face tighter documentation checks, fit-and-proper tests, management conditions and follow-up scrutiny where councils believe local risks are higher.
Why this matters beyond Preston
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on councils widening landlord licensing and HMO standards, which showed how local authorities are still pushing ahead with area-based controls despite ongoing debate over cost and effectiveness. Preston adds to that pattern, but with a fee level that landlords will notice immediately in cash terms.
There is also a timing issue. Councils now have stronger political cover to lean on enforcement and property condition after the June HHSRS changes. That means licensing consultations are no longer just background local-government process. They are becoming early warnings that compliance costs and inspection intensity may rise together.
Landlords in the North West should also note that schemes like this often encourage neighbouring authorities to revisit their own evidence and pilot areas. Another recent Landlord Knowledge story on Ealing opening a new HMO licensing consultation for 2027 shows the direction of travel is still towards more local controls, not fewer.
Preston’s consultation documents and ward details are available on the council’s selective licensing consultation page.
What this means for landlords
- If you own in the three proposed wards: model the £1,050 fee into your costs now rather than waiting for a final decision.
- If margins are already thin: check whether planned upgrades, refinancing or disposals need to move up the timetable.
- Watch for: final scheme terms, exemptions and any fee discounts before assuming the headline charge is the whole story.
- Practical step: get safety records, repair logs and management documents in order ahead of any licensing rollout.
- Bottom line: area licensing is becoming a recurring operating risk, and landlords who treat consultations casually may end up reacting too late.
Editor’s view
Licensing fees rarely arrive on their own. They usually come with a tougher inspection culture and a stronger expectation that landlords will prove standards rather than simply claim them. Preston’s proposed £1,050 charge is the headline, but the deeper story is the rising fixed cost of staying in some local rental markets.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 03 August 2026
Sources: Preston City Council
Related reading: Councils widen landlord licensing and HMO standards
