Selective licensing · Durham County Council
Proposed new selective licensing scheme from April 2027 (four designations covering 87 areas)
- Status
- Proposed
- Fee
- Proposed: £700 per property for a licence of up to five years, paid in two parts: £300 when you apply and £400 when the licence is issued. Apply within the first six months of the scheme and it would cost £550 (£300 and £250).
- Applies to
- Proposed: every privately rented home in 87 areas of County Durham, about 20,000 homes. Areas in the current scheme that no longer meet the criteria would leave it, and some new areas would join. If agreed, the scheme would start on 1 April 2027. The consultation closed on 12 August 2026 and the council's Cabinet is due to decide in November 2026.
Our records last verified 18 October 2026 · council designation page · licence conditions
Area covered
The designation covers a defined area of Durham County Council. Check your exact address with the checker below and against the map on the council’s designation page, because scheme boundaries are drawn street by street.
Durham County Council also runs its own address-level lookup: check whether a specific address falls inside the scheme.
What this means for landlords
Selective licensing applies to privately rented homes of any size in the designated area, including single lets. Letting an unlicensed property inside the area can mean a civil penalty of up to £40,000 and a rent repayment order of up to 24 months’ rent.
Is your property inside the scheme area?
This checker reflects HouseFile’s records of council licensing designations, not the councils’ live registers. Our records indicate the position at the verification date shown on each result. Schemes are designated, renewed and revoked throughout the year, and postcode-level lookups are approximate near scheme boundaries. Always confirm with the council before letting or buying a property, using the source link on each card. This is general information, not legal advice.
If you hold a licence here, HouseFile can track its renewal date
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