The initiative will cover around 12,500 homes in deprived communities
Leeds City Council has approved a new private rented sector licensing scheme to operate in its more deprived areas.
This means all private landlords, with certain limited exceptions, will be required by law to obtain a license for any residential property they are seeking to let in the area covered by the scheme.
It will apply to around 12,500 homes in parts of the Armley, Beeston and Holbeck, Burmantofts and Richmond Hill, Gipton and Harehills, Hunslet and Riverside and Farnley and Wortley council wards.
Licence conditions will include ensuring the safe working of gas or electric appliances, providing smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors and keeping the property in a decent state of repair, both inside and out.
The wider rollout of selective licensing follows the results of two schemes that ran in the Beeston and Harehills areas from 2020 until the start of 2025.
More than 6,700 inspections and other visits were conducted by the council at privately-rented properties in those areas while the initiative was in place.
Improvement work was carried out by landlords at around 1,430 homes where issues were identified, while around 400 civil penalties were issued to landlords who failed to do what was asked of them.
The visits also saw more than 1,900 referrals being made to partner agencies to support residents with non-housing related problems, such as health and finance.
Jess Lennox, Leeds City Council’s executive member for housing, said: “Given the clear link that exists between poor housing and poor health, it’s our hope that this scheme will also have a really positive impact on the general wellbeing of residents in disadvantaged communities.”
By law, selective licensing schemes in England can only run for a period of five years. The business case for the East, South and West Leeds selective licensing scheme was brought before the council’s executive board yesterday (15 October). It confirmed the designated area meets government-set conditions relating to deprivation levels and proportion of privately-rented housing for the implementation of the scheme.
Income generated from licensing fees will be ringfenced to cover the cost of running the scheme, which will begin in February 2026. Since last December councils have been permitted to introduce selective licensing schemes without needing approval from the government.
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