Selective Licensing 1st May 2020 to April 2025

Apply for a selective license and fee information

Application Form

To apply, please download and complete the application form. Please ensure you include all the required certificates and any additional information. Please return the completed application form and additional documents by email to; LandlordLicensing@rotherham.gov.uk.

To complete the application you must pay your initial application fee of £68.00 per property, This can be done via the link below and remember to include the address of the property applied for in the text box on the payment screen.

Download an application form

This file may not be accessible for users of assistive technology.

Pay online

If you prefer, the application form can be printed and posted (including the additional information) to the address included on the application form.

For the application to be valid, please complete all mandatory fields on the application form, including an email address, and provide the following documents:

  • a valid and in-date Gas Safety certification (GSC)
  • Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
  • Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
  • A utility bill or bank statement for the applicant’s home address no more than 3 months old
  • a copy of either a picture driving licence or passport

If a landlord has more than one property in the selected areas, they need a licence for each property that they let. Where you have a property containing multiple let units of accommodation within the same building, the additional units will be licenced at a charged of £132 per additional unit.

Application Fee

Applicants must pay a non refundable application fee of £68 per property upfront with the licence application.

Where an application is late – this mean the application for a licence is made after the 31st October 2020, when their property was licensable on the 1st May 2020 or if a property fails to license within 12 weeks of it becoming licensable after the 31st October 2020, it will be subject to a Late Licence Fee of £136.00 payable with the application fee. (£68+£136=£204)

The remaining fee of £453 per property is payable on the offer of a licence and can be paid in full or by direct debit in monthly instalments.

There is a £13 administration fee if paying in instalments.

Where an application is late – more than 12 weeks after the property became licensable - a penalty fee of £136 must also be paid upfront with the application

The remaining fee of £453 per property is payable on the offer of a licence and can be paid in full or by direct debit over 24 monthly instalments or before the end of the scheme, whichever is the shortest period.

There is a £13 administration fee if paying in instalments.

Payments are accepted by cheque, online or at a Council payment kiosk/self-service kiosk.

Please note the Declarations of the areas last 5 Years. However, the licence will run from the date your licence is issued to the end of the scheme 30th April 2025.

Where a license is surrendered, as a property is sold before the end of the scheme or it becomes no longer licensable or the licenced person changes, a pro rata rebate of the maintenance part of the licence fee can be requested, but only if the council is notified as soon as possible after the change and within 1 calendar month. Beyond this period any eligibility to the rebate will be forfeit (from date of property transfer or end of tenancy).

Where a licence is applied for by a new owner / manager following the surrender of a previous licence, or a premise becomes licensable for the first time during the scheme, the maintenance part of the licence fee will be charged at a pro-rata rate to cover the remainder of the licensable period. Please contact the Selective Licensing prior to your application if you need further advice or clarification.

After you are licensed, the property will be inspected to confirm the details of the application. Our qualified inspectors will also check that it has no hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).

Rebate for Landlords with compliant properties

In recognition of licence holders who maintain their properties to a high standard and comply with the conditions of the scheme.

Conditions for eligibility for the rebate

At the time of the licensing inspection of the property:

  1. No late payment fee was applied to the application
  2. You are fully compliant with the statutory licence conditions (conditions 1-4).
  3. Property is free from serious disrepair / poor management – this would usually mean the property is free of any category 1 hazard or serious category 2 hazards, under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).

This would usually mean:

  • Working smoke detection on each level including any cellar
  • Internal doors close, have handles, no damage and minimal gaps
  • A working heating and hot water system that is fixed, programmable and controllable
  • Windows that close, have handles, no damage and minimal gaps, where they have a sill height of less that 1100mm a restrictor is in place
  • Electrics in good working order and not damaged
  • Staircases have handrails and balustrades with gaps no more than 100mm between spindles
  • Hot and cold running water to the kitchen and all bathrooms/toilets
  • The property is free from pests and refuse including the yard/garden area
  • The roofs, walls and floors are is good condition
  • The property is free from all damp and mould
  • Safe and hygienic kitchen layout. Ideally a hob and cooker sited away from a thoroughfare and with an adequate area

This list is not exhaustive list and other failures may be considered when considering the eligibility for a rebate.  

Inspections will continue throughout the life of the area to ensure that the licence conditions are being met.

Examples RMBC policy – application of the licence rebate for eligible properties

Full licence fee of £453 has been paid, and the initial HHSRS inspection shows eligibility for a rebate

A rebate of £127 for a single property will be paid. This represents a proportional rebate of 28% of the maintenance fee for the licence.

Note: In all cases where a landlord is paying the maintenance fee via direct debit, we will calculate the proportionate amount and either adjust the direct debit or make a refund via the landlord’s bank account

Properties change hands or exempt.

 

A Full rebate of £127 has been made, but the landlord surrenders their licence before 30/4/25 and another licence holder applies for the remaining period of the scheme

One licence maintenance licence fee is applicable to each property for the life of the scheme and only one rebate valued at 28% of the licence maintenance fee paid is available.

Where a property is sold or become not licensable, A pro rata refund of the maintenance fee is available to the original licence holder. Where the rebate has been paid no further action will be taken by the Council. If the rebate has not been paid before the disposal of the licence, no rebate is applicable to the original licence holder.

Where a new licence holder takes over the property for the remainder of the scheme, they pay a pro rata maintenance fee, they will only be eligible for rebate if;

  • No initial HHSRS inspection has been undertaken prior to their ownership
  • No Rebate has previously been paid on that property in this scheme. 

Any rebate they become eligible for is valued at 28% of the maintenance fee they have paid. 

(Note: We ask landlords to supply a letter or an email from their solicitor to confirm the date of sale)

A property has not been licensed for the full period of the scheme. A Pro-rata licence maintenance fee will be charge – and property merits a rebate

If a pro rata maintenance licence fee was paid because the property was not previously licenced, then a pro-rata rebate of 28% of the licence maintenance fee will be made where the property is eligible.

 

 

 

Additional units on the same property (this will mainly be flats) merit a rebate.,

A rebate is available to all eligible units where a charge of £132 or a pro-rata calculation of this has been made. The rebate will be paid at 28% of the value of the maintenance fee charged. So a full charge of £132 for an additional unit would merit a rebate of £36.96

 

A portfolio under one owner is inspected, and some properties are eligible for a rebate, but some are not.

The portfolio could comprise of separate properties or flats.

We expect portfolio holders to be professional landlord and to manage all their properties to a high standard.

When considering eligibility for a rebate the council will consider each property on its merits but ALSO the level of eligibility across the portfolio.

If more properties in a portfolio fail the eligibility standard for rebate than pass, then the portfolio holder will be considered to have failed the management test across the whole portfolio and will not be eligible for a rebate on any property.

To ensure consistency the council will aim to inspect a whole portfolio within a 60 day period and eligibility for the rebates will be judged at the completion to all inspections.      

Summary of fees

Total licence fee per house applicable to all selective licenses applied for in designations made in 2020 £521 Made up of the application element and the maintenance element.
Application fee element £68 Non-refundable, paid with the application
Maintenance fee element £453

Paid once a draft licence has been granted.
This portion of the licence fee can, on request, be spread over monthly payments by Direct Debit. An administration fee of £13 is charged to set up a Direct Debit.

Where a licence is applied for by a new owner / manager following the surrender of a previous licence, or a premise becomes licensable for the first time during the scheme, the maintenance part of the licence fee will be charged at pro-rata rate to cover the remainder of the licensable period.

Additional Unit maintenance fee £132 Applicable where there is an additional letting unit in the same building/house under the same ownership. Only one maintenance fee element is incurred for the building and each additional unit of accommodation will be charged at £132.
Rebate for licence holders with proven High Standards of property management £127 Qualifying criteria must be met at the time of the property licensing inspection (see above). 
Late Application fee £136 Payable as described above. Paid with application element - non-refundable
Changes of address detials on an existing licence where the holder remains the same Free

For minor changes

 

Surrender of a licence Maintenace part of the licence fee willl be calculated pro rata Where a license is surrendered, as a property is sold before the end of the scheme or it becomes no longer licensable or the licenced person changes, a pro rata rebate of the maintenance part of the licence fee can be requested, but only if the council is notified within a maximum if one calendar month of the change (date of property transfer or end of tenancy). 
Notes
  1. Applications will be assessed for completeness and if incomplete applications are not resolved within 4 weeks of the applicant being notified of errors or omissions, they will be rejected without assessment. The application fee will be payable again with any resubmitted appli-cation
  2. Where a licence is refused, the application fee will need to be paid again with any new application. Instalment arrangements for licence fees will only be available if applications are received within 12 weeks of the property becoming licensable

Please note the Declarations of the areas last 5 Years. However, the licence will run from the date your licence is issued to the end of the scheme 30th April 2025.

Where a license is surrendered as a property is sold before the end of the scheme a rebate can be requested. Where a licence is applied for following the surrender of a previous licence by a new manager or a premise becomes licensable for the first time during the scheme, a pro-rata rate will apply. Please contact the Selective Licensing prior to your application if you need further advice or clarification.

After you are licensed, the property will be inspected to confirm the details of the application. Our qualified inspectors will also check that it has no hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).