Landlords letting homes on 16 designated streets in Burton upon Trent will need a licence from New Year’s Day after East Staffordshire Borough Council approved a new selective licensing scheme.

The designation takes effect on 1 January 2027 and will run until 31 December 2031. Around 1,100 privately rented homes are expected to fall inside the boundary, in neighbourhoods the council says hold a high concentration of privately rented homes that are poorly managed and maintained.

Licence conditions cover gas safety, electrics and references

Licence holders will have to show appropriate management arrangements and comply with a set of mandatory conditions. The list includes an up-to-date gas safety certificate, a current Electrical Installation Condition Report with electrical appliances and furniture in safe condition, working smoke alarms on each storey used as living accommodation, and carbon monoxide alarms in any living room containing a solid fuel burning appliance.

Every tenant must receive a written tenancy agreement with a clear statement of the terms on which they occupy the house, and landlords must obtain references from people who wish to occupy the property. The council has added further conditions aimed at specific local problems, and licence holders will need to meet those alongside the national mandatory set.

A spokesperson for East Staffordshire Borough Council said: “Selective licensing will help us improve housing conditions and management standards in areas with a high concentration of privately rented homes that are poorly managed and maintained. It will give tenants greater assurance that their homes are safe and well managed, while ensuring responsible landlords operate on a fair and consistent basis.”

The scheme follows a public consultation, and the council is now telling landlords and managing agents with property on the designated streets to check whether they need a licence and to make sure they can meet the conditions before the January start date.

This follows Residential Landlord’s report on Grimsby landlords facing a £200 late fee as their licensing deadline approached, a reminder that councils are now charging for slow applications as well as pursuing unlicensed letting.

Deadlines and penalties leave Burton landlords little room

Letting a property inside the designation without a licence once the scheme is live risks prosecution or a civil penalty of up to £30,000, and tenants can apply for rent repayment orders through the tribunal. Recent analysis found 93% of rent repayment orders centred on licensing offences, with a median award of £6,141, so missing the start date can cost far more than the licence fee itself.

Practical steps for affected landlords include:

• Checking the designation map now to confirm whether each property sits on one of the 16 streets.
• Booking gas safety inspections and electrical checks early, before winter demand fills engineer diaries.
• Putting written tenancy agreements and a simple referencing routine in place for every let.
• Reading the council’s selective licensing pages for the street list, fees and application route.

With the scheme running for five full years to the end of 2031, enforcement officers will have a long window to check compliance street by street.

Opinion

Burton landlords have barely two months to get licences, certificates and references in order, and the council has spelled out exactly what it expects. Given how often licensing breaches now end in repayment orders, treating the January deadline as fixed is the only safe option.