Selective licensing · North Yorkshire Council
Scarborough Town selective licensing designation (SL4), parts of Castle, Falsgrave and Stepney, and Northstead (council page name: Selective licensing in Scarborough Town from 1 June 2024)
- Status
- In force
- Runs
- 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2029
- Designated
- 23 January 2024
- Fee
- £695 per property when the scheme started in June 2024, paid in two parts: £180 when you apply and £515 before the licence is issued. A landlord who owns the freehold of a block gets one licence for all their flats in it, at £695 plus £100 for each extra flat. Without the freehold, each flat needs its own licence: £695 for the first and £100 for each extra one. There's £260 off if you held the licence for the same property under the earlier Scarborough North or Scarborough Central schemes, £50 off for members of the NRLA, the Eastern Landlord Association, SafeAgent, ARLA or Propertymark, and £50 off each further application. The council reviews and increases the fees every year, so the fee you pay may be higher.
- Applies to
- Every privately rented home on the listed streets of central Scarborough, covering the town centre and nearby residential streets in parts of Castle, Falsgrave and Stepney, and Northstead. The council estimated about 1,200 homes would need a licence. Some streets are covered only for certain house numbers. Exempt: licensed HMOs, social landlord lets, homes under a management order or temporary exemption, business tenancies, holiday homes, lets to certain relatives, and homes where the landlord or a relative lives and shares facilities.
Our records last verified 18 October 2026 · council designation page · licence conditions
Area covered
The scheme’s area lies within these wards: Castle, Falsgrave & Stepney, Northstead. The council publishes the exact area as a map or a street list, so check your address against it.
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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