Sefton: landlord licensing
Sefton operates discretionary property licensing. Here is what is in force, what is coming, and how to check whether your property is affected.
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Active selective licensing
Selective licensing applies to ordinary private rented homes (not just HMOs) within a designated area.
Selective licensing
activeA large proportion of Bootle (street-level designation; council publishes street list and map)
- Dates
- 1 Mar 2023 – 29 Feb 2028
- Approx. fee
- £695 standard (£545/£495 accredited)
- Designated streets
- 401
Show the 401 designated streets
Transcribed from the council's published designation. Where only part of a street is covered, the house numbers are shown exactly as the council writes them.
- Addison Street
- Aintree Road (Numbers 1-29 Odds, 2-64 Evens)
- Akenside Street
- Alpha Street
- Alt Road
- Altcar Road
- Antonio Street
- Anvil Close
- Arctic Road
- Ash Grove
- Ash Street
- Atlantic Road
- Atlas Road
- Aughton Road
- August Street
- Autumn Way
- Aylward Place
- Back Stanley Road
- Balfe Street
- Balfour Avenue
- Balfour Road
- Balliol Road
- Baltic Road
- Bank Road
- Barkeley Drive
- Barnton Close
- Beatrice Street
- Bedford Road
- Beech Grove
- Beech Street
- Beechwood Road
- Bellini Close
- Benbow Street
- Benedict Street
- Beresford Street
- Bergen Close
- Berry Street
- Bianca Street
- Bibbys Lane
- Blisworth Street
- Blossom Street
- Boswell Street
- Bowden Street
- Bowles Street
- Braby Road
- Brasenose Road
- Breeze Hill (Numbers 1-39 Odds, 36-48 Evens)
- Brewster Street (Numbers 73-75 Odds, 46-100 Evens)
- Bridge Road
- Bridge Street
- Bromyard Close
- Brook Road
- Brookhill Close
- Brookhill Road
- Browning Street
- Bryant Road
- Bulwer Street
- Burns Street
- Bushley Close
- Byng Street
- Byron Street
- Cambridge Road
- Campbell Street
- Canal Street
- Capricorn Way
- Caradoc Road
- Carisbrooke Road (Numbers 137-175 Odds, 140-178 Evens)
- Carolina Street
- Carriage Grove
- Caspian Place
- Cassio Street
- Catherine Street
- Cecil Road
- Cedar Street
- Chapel Terrace
- Chaucer Street
- Chelsea Road
- Chesnut Grove
- Church Gardens
- Church Grove
- Church Road
- Church Street
- Church View
- Church Walk
- Clairville Close
- Clare Road
- Clarendon Road
- Clayfield Close
- Cleary Street
- Cobb Avenue
- Coleridge Street
- College View
- Collins Close
- Compton Walk
- Cookson Road
- Coral Drive
- Cornwall Road
- Corporation Wharf
- Cowper Street
- Crescent Road
- Cricklade Close
- Crosby Road South (Numbers 171-275 Odds)
- Croxteth Avenue
- Croxteth Road
- Cunard Road
- Dacre Street
- Daisy Mews
- Daniel Close
- Davies Street
- Deepdale Avenue
- Delaware Road
- Delta Road
- Derby Road (Numbers 119-327 Odds, 42-318 Evens)
- Dorset Close
- Douglas Place
- Downing Road
- Drake Street
- Dryden Street
- Dundas Street
- Earl Road (1-31 Odds only)
- Eaton Avenue
- Effingham Street
- Eliot Street
- Elm Drive
- Elm Road
- Empire Road
- Essex Way
- Everton View
- Exeter Road
- Falconer Street
- Fern Grove
- Fernhill Close
- Fernhill Gardens
- Fernhill Mews East
- Fernhill Mews West
- Fernhill Road (Edith Villas, Oxford House, Sefton Villas, Numbers 7-23 Odds, 20-48 Evens)
- Fernhill Way
- Gemini Close
- Georgia Close
- Girton Avenue
- Gladstone Road (Numbers 1-5 ODDS, 4-10 EVENS, 1-18 Elm Gardens)
- Globe Road
- Gloucester Road
- Glover Place
- Goldsmith Street
- Gonville Road
- Gower Street
- Gray Street
- Green Lane (Numbers 56-60 Evens)
- Grimshaw Street
- Grove Street
- Guion Road
- Halidon Court
- Halsall Road
- Hands Street
- Hapsford Road
- Hartwell Street
- Havelock Road
- Hawarden Grove
- Hawthorne Road (Numbers 1-513 Odds, 2-556 Evens)
- Heathfield Close
- Heathfield Drive
- Hemans Street
- Hemer Terrace
- Hero Street
- Hertford Road
- Hicks Road
- Hillcrest
- Hillhead Road
- Hillside Close
- Hinton Street
- Hogarth Street
- Holly Grove
- Holly Street
- Holmes Lane
- Hood Street
- Hornby Avenue
- Hornby Boulevard
- Hornby Road
- Hornby Street
- Humphrey Street
- Ibstock Road
- Ince Avenue
- Inman Road
- Irlam Road
- Ismay Road
- Jacobs Close
- Jersey Close
- Jersey Street
- Joseph Gardner Way
- Jubilee Road
- July Street
- June Street
- Kara Close
- Keats Street
- Keble Road
- Ken Mews
- Kenilworth Street
- Kent Close
- Kepler Street
- Kilburn Street
- Kings Road
- Kipling Street
- Kirk Road
- Knowsley Road
- Laburnum Place
- Lander Road
- Langdale Street
- Lathom Road
- Lawler Street
- Leicester Road
- Librex Close
- Lily Road
- Lime Grove
- Linacre Lane (Numbers 11-109 Odds, 2-58 Evens)
- Linacre Road
- Lincoln Crescent
- Litherland Road
- Longfellow Street
- Longfield Road
- Lunt Road
- Lydiate Road
- Lyster Road
- Lytton Grove
- Malvern Road
- Manor Close
- Mansfield Road
- Maple Close
- Marble Close
- Margaret Avenue
- Markfield Road
- Marsh Lane
- Maryland Grove
- May Close
- May Street
- Meadow Hey
- Melling Road
- Merton Grove
- Merton Road
- Middlesex Road
- Mildmay Road
- Mill Lane
- Millers Bridge
- Milton Street
- Miranda Road (Numbers 7-47 Odds, 2-56 Evens)
- Moore Street
- Muspratt Road
- Napier Street
- Nelson Road
- Nelson Street
- New Fort Way
- New Strand Mariners Way
- New Strand Medway
- New Strand Mons Square
- New Strand Parkside
- New Strand Ravenway
- New Strand Serviceway
- New Strand The Esplanade
- New Strand The Hexagon
- New Strand The Palatine
- Newton Walk
- Norfolk Close
- Norfolk Place
- Norton Street
- Nuffield Road
- Oak Street
- Oakland Close
- Ocean Road
- Olivia Street
- Oneill Street
- Oregon Close
- Oriel Road
- Orlando Street
- Oxford Avenue
- Oxford Road
- Pacific Road
- Palmerston Avenue
- Palmerston Drive
- Park Place
- Park Street
- Peel Road
- Pembroke Road
- Pennington Road
- Penpoll Close
- Penrhyn Avenue
- Percy Street
- Peter Mahon Way
- Peterhouse Mews
- Pine Grove
- Pleasant Street
- Pleasant View
- Plum Grove
- Pope Street
- Poplar Grove
- Princes Street
- Princess Way
- Prior Street
- Quarry Road
- Queens Road
- Raleigh Street
- Rawson Road (Numbers 1-41 Odds, 2-60 Evens)
- Redwood Grove
- Regent Road
- Richmond Court
- Riddock Road
- Rimmer Close
- Rimrose Road
- Riverside Close
- Roby Street
- Ronan Close
- Ropeworks Close
- Rose Avenue
- Rossini Street
- Roxburgh Street (Numbers 161-175 Odds, 144-176 Evens)
- Royal Seaforth Dock
- Rufford Road
- Ruskin Close
- Rutland Street
- Salisbury Road
- Sandfield Place
- Sandfield Road
- Sandy Road (Numbers 1-15 Odds only)
- Scarisbrick Avenue
- School Lane
- Scott Street
- Seafield Road
- Seaforth Road
- Seaforth Vale North
- Seaforth Vale West
- Seaview Road
- Sefton Avenue
- Sefton Street (Numbers 1 and 1A)
- Servia Road
- Seymour Road
- Seymour Street
- Shakespeare Street
- Shelley Street
- Shore Road
- Sidney Road
- Smollett Street
- Snave Close
- Snowdrop Mews
- Somerset Road
- South Park Way
- Southey Street
- Southport Road (Numbers 2-44 Evens only)
- Spenser Street
- Springs Close
- St Albans Road
- St Albans Square
- St Andrews Road
- St Catherines Road
- St Edmonds Road
- St James Drive
- St Joans Close
- St Johns Road
- St Johns Terrace
- St Marys Close
- St Pauls Place
- Stanley Road
- Strand Road
- Strand View
- Suffolk Street
- Summer Road
- Summerseat
- Surrey Street
- Sussex Close
- Sussex Street
- Talisman Way
- Tennyson Street
- The Grange
- Thornton Road
- Thornton Street
- Towcester Street
- Trinity Place
- Trinity Road
- University Road
- Ursula Street
- Verdi Avenue
- Verdi Street
- Verdi Terrace
- Vermont Way
- Viola Street
- Violet Road
- Wadham Road
- Waller Street
- Warton Street
- Warton Terrace
- Warwick Road
- Washington Parade
- Waterworks Street
- Waverley Street
- Webster Street
- Well Lane
- Well Lane Gardens
- Wellington Road
- William Henry Street
- Wood Street
- Woolfall Terrace
- Worcester Road
- Wordsworth Street
Official local authority licensing designation
Active additional (HMO) licensing
Additional licensing extends HMO licensing to smaller shared houses (typically 3-4 sharers) that fall below the mandatory threshold.
Additional (HMO) licensing
activeParts of Seaforth, Waterloo, Brighton-le-Sands and central Southport (street-level designation)
- Dates
- 1 Mar 2023 – 29 Feb 2028
- Approx. fee
- £950 standard (£800/£750 accredited)
- Designated streets
- 244
Show the 244 designated streets
Transcribed from the council's published designation. Where only part of a street is covered, the house numbers are shown exactly as the council writes them.
- Adelaide Road
- Adelaide Terrace
- Albany Road
- Albert Place
- Albert Road
- Alexandra Road
- Anchor Street
- Argo Road
- Arnside Road
- Arnside Terrace
- Avondale Road
- Avondale Road North
- Back Bath Street
- Back Bridge Road
- Back Mersey View
- Back Mount Street
- Back South Road
- Balls Place
- Bank Passage
- Bank Square
- Bath Street
- Bath Street North
- Beach Bank
- Beach Lawn
- Beach Priory Gardens (Odds The Shelbourne 1A)
- Beaconsfield Road
- Bedford Place
- Belgrave Road
- Bentham Street
- Blucher Street
- Bold Street
- Booth Street
- Bower Grove
- Bradley Place
- Bradley Street
- Bridge Road
- Bridge Street
- Brighton Road
- Brooke Road West
- Browning Road
- Brunswick Mews
- Brunswick Parade
- Burdett Road
- Cable Street
- Cambridge Arcade
- Cambridge Road
- Cambridge Walks
- Canning Street
- Castle Walk
- Cemetery Road
- Chapel Street
- Chatham Close
- Chesnut Road
- Church Road
- Church Street
- Claremont Close
- Claremont Road
- Coach House Mews
- Coopers Row
- Corinthian Street
- Corona Road
- Coronation Walk
- Corporation Street
- Court Road
- Courtenay Avenue
- Courtenay Road
- Crosby Road North
- Crosby Road South
- Cross Street
- Curzon Road
- Deacon Close
- Deacon Court
- Dean Street
- Denmark Street
- Derby Road
- Dewlands Road
- Doric Street
- Duke Street
- Durham Road
- East Street
- Eastbank Street
- Eastbank Street Square
- Ericson Drive
- Esplanade
- Ewart Road
- Fairbairn Road
- Gladstone Avenue
- Gladstone Road (Russell Row 1-4, Bentley Court 1-15, Numbers 13-49 Odds, 24-26, 36-68 Evens)
- Glebe Place
- Glenbank
- Glendower Road
- Gordon Avenue
- Gordon Road
- Gordon Street
- Gordon Way
- Great Georges Road
- Grecian Street
- Hampton Road
- Handfield Road
- Harbord Road
- Harbord Terrace
- Harrowby Road
- Hawesside Street
- Heathfield Road
- Hereford Road
- Hill Street
- Hodge Street
- Hoghton Grove
- Hoghton Place
- Hoghton Street
- Holden Grove
- Holden Road
- Holden Road East
- Holden Terrace
- Hougoumont Avenue
- Hougoumont Grove
- Hulme Street
- Hyde Road
- Ionic Street
- Irving Street
- Johnson Street
- King Street
- Kings Park
- Kingsway
- Kinross Road
- Knowsley Road
- Lathom Avenue
- Lathom Close
- Lathom Road
- Leicester Street
- Leopold Road
- Leyland Road
- Linaker Street
- London Square
- London Street
- Lord Street
- Lorne Road
- Lower Promenade
- Lulworth Avenue
- Lyra Road
- Manley Road
- Marble Place
- Marine Crescent
- Marine Terrace
- Market Street
- Marlborough Road
- Mason Street
- Melrose Road
- Mersey View
- Midland Terrace
- Mornington Road
- Mount Pleasant
- Mount Street
- Murat Grove
- Murat Street
- Nelson Street
- Nevill Street
- Neville Road
- Norma Road
- North Street
- Olive Road
- Oxford Drive
- Oxford Road
- Park Road West
- Parker Avenue
- Part Street
- Penty Place
- Picton Road
- Portland Avenue
- Portland Street
- Post Office Avenue
- Prince Street
- Princes Street
- Pritchard Avenue
- Promenade
- Purley Road
- Queen Anne Street
- Queen Street
- Queens Road
- Railway Street
- Railway Terrace
- Rawson Close
- Rawson Road (Numbers 43-187 Odds, 62-160 Evens)
- Riding Street
- Rimmers Avenue
- River View
- Riversdale Road
- Royal Terrace
- Sandheys Avenue
- Sandheys Grove
- Sandheys Terrace
- Sandhurst Close
- Sandon Street
- Sandown Road
- Sandpipers Court
- Sandringham Avenue
- Sandringham Road
- Sandy Road (Numbers 33-73 Odds, 38-156 Evens)
- Saunders Street
- Scarisbrick Avenue
- Scarisbrick Street
- Seabank Road
- Seaside Close
- Seaview Terrace
- Sefton Street
- Selsdon Road
- Shakespeare Street
- Sharrock Street
- South Road
- South View
- St Andrews Place
- St Georges Place
- St Johns Place
- St Johns Road
- Stanley Road
- Stanley Street
- Sweden Grove
- Talbot Drive
- Talbot Street
- The Esplanade
- Thomson Road
- Trinity Gardens
- Trinity Mews
- Tulketh Street
- Victoria Road
- Victoria Street
- Victoria Way
- Vulcan Street
- Walmer Road
- Walton Street
- Water Street
- Waterloo Close
- Waterloo Road
- Waverley Street
- Wayfarers Arcade
- Wellington Street
- Wesley Street
- West Street
- Westward View
- Willoughby Road
- Woodland Road
- Wright Street
- Yellow House Lane
- York Street
Official local authority licensing designation
Mandatory HMO licensing (applies everywhere)
Regardless of local schemes, any property in Sefton let to 5 or more people forming 2 or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a mandatory HMO licence under the Housing Act 2004. Licences last up to 5 years and the fee is set by the council.
Penalties for operating unlicensed
- Civil penalty of up to £40,000 per offence (raised from £30,000 on 1 May 2026).
- Rent Repayment Order of up to 24 months' rent, claimable by the tenant.
- Unlimited fine on criminal prosecution, plus possible banning order.
- Once the national PRS Database is live, unregistered landlords can be blocked from regaining possession.
Notes
Both extended for five years to 2028 after a 2022 consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a landlord licence in Sefton?
Sefton operates 1 selective licensing scheme(s) and 1 additional (HMO) licensing scheme(s). Whether your specific property needs a licence depends on its exact location and how it is let. Separately, mandatory HMO licensing still applies, to any property let to 5 or more people forming 2 or more households.
What is the penalty for an unlicensed property in Sefton?
Operating a licensable property without a licence can lead to a civil penalty of up to £40,000 per offence, a Rent Repayment Order of up to 24 months' rent, an unlimited fine on prosecution, and a banning order for serious or repeat offenders.
Can a tenant in Sefton claim rent back from an unlicensed landlord?
Yes. Letting a property that required a licence, without one, is an offence under section 72(1) or section 95(1) of the Housing Act 2004, and a tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order of up to 24 months' rent for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026. No conviction is needed first, but the tribunal must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the offence was committed, and the application must be made within two years of it. Tribunals award a percentage of the rent rather than the maximum, following the method in Acheampong v Roman [2022] UKUT 239 (LC).
Does your property need a licence?
Enter your postcode for an instant free check of every scheme that could apply.
Free scheme check · £7.99 for the full property report
Renting in Sefton?
If your home needed a licence and did not have one, you may be able to claim rent back
A Rent Repayment Order can be up to 24 months' rent, you apply to the tribunal yourself, and your landlord does not need to have been prosecuted. The deadline is two years from the offence.
🏛️ Government-backed data: built from official local authority licensing designations, ONS council boundaries and UK housing legislation (Housing Act 2004), verified as of July 2026. PRSCheck is an information service, not legal advice. Many schemes are designated at street or part-ward level; the paid report confirms the exact boundary and official source for your address. Browse all councils.