Selective licensing · Sefton Council
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council designation of an area of Bootle for Selective Licensing (council page name: Selective Licensing 2023-2028)
- Status
- In force
- Runs
- 1 March 2023 to 28 February 2028
- Designated
- 18 October 2022
- Fee
- £695 per property: £150 when you apply and the rest when the draft licence is issued. It's £545 if the property is accredited through Sefton's Property Accreditation Scheme or you're accredited with the NRLA (membership alone doesn't count), and £495 if an accredited managing agent holds the licence. Each extra flat or bedsit in the same building and ownership adds £30.
- Applies to
- Every privately rented home in the part of Bootle on the council's map and street list, including flats, converted blocks and smaller HMOs. HMOs that need a mandatory licence, usually those with five or more people from two or more households sharing facilities, need that licence instead. Exemptions include lets by social landlords, homes under a management order, prohibition order or temporary exemption, business tenancies, holiday homes, some student housing, homes let to certain relatives, and homes where the landlord or a relative lives and shares facilities. Check the council's map and street list for your street.
Our records last verified 18 October 2026 · council designation page · licence conditions
Area covered
The scheme’s area lies within these wards: Bootle East, Bootle West, Litherland. 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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