Selective licensing · Southend-on-Sea City Council
Southend Borough Council Designation of an Area for Selective Licensing 2021 (council page name: Selective Licensing Scheme)
- Status
- In force
- Runs
- 1 December 2021 to 30 November 2026
- Designated
- 18 March 2021
- Fee
- £830 per property: £208 when you apply and £622 for the second part, which the council then takes automatically. Each flat in a building needs its own licence.
- Applies to
- Every privately rented home in the area shown on the council's map, in parts of Milton, Kursaal, Victoria and Chalkwell wards, unless it's an HMO that needs a mandatory licence. Southend has no additional HMO licensing, so shared houses of three or four people need a selective licence here. Each flat in a building needs its own licence. Exempt: HMOs that need a mandatory licence, homes let by a registered social landlord such as a housing association, homes under a management order or with a temporary exemption, and the kinds of letting exempt nationally. The street list in the council's notice includes some streets outside the map, such as Kenway, Tickfield Avenue and East Street, and the notice says to use the council's map to confirm. If your home is on one of them, check with the council. The scheme ends on 30 November 2026.
Our records last verified 18 October 2026 · council designation page
Area covered
The designation covers a defined area of Southend-on-Sea City 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.
Southend-on-Sea City 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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