Slough Council is moving ahead with plans to bring back selective licensing and borough-wide additional HMO licensing, with a 10-week consultation expected within the next month.
Slough moves toward borough-wide licensing return
A cabinet report considered on 20 April said the council wants to reintroduce both schemes after the previous designations ended in 2024. If approved after consultation, the additional licensing designation would cover an estimated 2,024 HMOs across the borough, while the selective licensing designation would reach about 14,686 privately rented homes.
The council’s case is built on hazards, anti-social behaviour and enforcement history. According to the report, suspected HMOs were linked to 801 of 2,752 anti-social behaviour incidents recorded between 2020 and 2025. Of 369 housing enforcement notices served in the private rented sector over the same period, suspected HMOs accounted for 41 percent.
Slough also said around 12 percent of self-contained private rented homes in the borough are predicted to contain a serious hazard, while ‘beds in sheds’ remain a live concern. For landlords, that means the council is making a standards-based case for wider licensing rather than presenting the move as a narrow HMO issue.
Consultation will test support for wider landlord controls
The previous schemes licensed 149 properties under additional licensing and 3,635 under selective licensing. The new proposals go further by extending both designations across all wards. The report also makes clear the council does not plan to offer discounts for early applications or landlord accreditation, arguing that reduced fees would leave other landlords subsidising the shortfall.
That fee stance matters. In practice, landlords often judge a scheme not just on whether it exists but on how application costs, licence conditions and renewal burdens are structured. A borough-wide roll-out without discounts is likely to sharpen that scrutiny, especially for smaller operators with multiple properties.
Landlord Knowledge has already tracked other councils tightening local controls. Charnwood rewrote parts of its selective licensing terms after a landlord challenge, while Medway moved closer to making HMO planning controls permanent.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s recent coverage showing that local authorities are still widening intervention even after the Renters’ Rights Act has taken effect. The pattern is clear: national reform has not reduced local appetite for extra licensing, planning controls and enforcement powers.
The main risk for landlords is assuming a consultation means a distant problem. Once a local authority has assembled the evidence base and secured cabinet backing for consultation, the broad direction is usually set. The real questions become boundaries, exemptions, conditions and fees.
Landlords with property in Slough should review the council papers now, check whether any homes could fall within additional HMO licensing, and prepare for a formal consultation response. The relevant cabinet material is available in Slough’s Discretionary Property Licensing agenda item.
What this means for landlords
- If you own in Slough: check whether your properties could fall into selective licensing, additional licensing or both.
- If you run HMOs: expect the council to focus heavily on standards, anti-social behaviour and proof of compliance.
- Watch for: consultation dates, proposed fees, draft conditions and any exemption policy.
- If you have multiple properties: model the total licensing cost now rather than waiting for formal launch.
- Bottom line: this looks like a serious push toward borough-wide licensing, not a tentative trial.
Editor’s view
Licensing consultations are often presented as open questions, but by this stage councils usually know what they want. For landlords in Slough, the practical job now is to shape the detail – and price the compliance burden before it arrives.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 4 May 2026
Sources: Slough Borough Council cabinet report, Slough Borough Council agenda item
Related reading: Charnwood rewrites licensing terms after landlord challenge
