Guidance

The Housing Act 2004: Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Selective Licensing of Other Residential Accommodation (England) General Approval 2024

Updated 16 December 2024

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2024

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/selective-licensing-in-the-private-rented-sector-a-guide-for-local-authorities/the-housing-act-2004-licensing-of-houses-in-multiple-occupation-and-selective-licensing-of-other-residential-accommodation-england-general-approval--2

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in exercise of powers under sections 58(5) and (6) and 82(5) and (6) of the Housing Act 2004 gives to all local housing authorities in England the following general approval:

Commencement and Interpretation

1. This general approval comes into force on 23 December 2024.

2. Words and expressions used in this approval shall, unless the context otherwise requires, take the same meaning that is given to them in the Housing Act 2004 (“the Act”).

General Approval

3. Subject to the condition contained in paragraph 5, every local housing authority in England that designates an area of their district or an area in their district as subject to additional licensing in relation to a description of HMOs specified in a designation made under section 56(1) of the Act has the Secretary of State’s general approval of that designation for the purposes of section 58(1)(b) of the Act.

4. Subject to the condition contained in paragraphs 5, every local housing authority in England that designates an area of their district or an area in their district as subject to selective licensing under section 80(1) of the Act has the Secretary of State’s general approval of that designation for the purposes of section 82(1)(b) of the Act.

Condition to be satisfied

5. The general approval described in paragraphs 3 and 4 is given in relation to a designation in respect of which the local housing authority has consulted persons who are likely to be affected by it under section 56(3)(a) or section 80(9)(a) of the Act for not less than 10 weeks.

Revocation of previous General Approvals

6. The general approval given by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 26 March 2015 (“The Housing Act 2004: Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Selective Licensing of Other Residential Accommodation (England) General Approval 2015”) is revoked from 23 December 2024.

7. The general approval given by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 14 September 2023 to Greater Manchester councils is revoked from 23 December 2024.

8. For the avoidance of doubt, the revocations described in paragraphs 6 and 7 do not affect the validity of designations made and published by a local housing authority in accordance with section 59(2) or section 83(2) of the Act before 23 December 2024, regardless of the date of coming into force of such designations.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government

Matthew Pennycook MP
Minister of State for Housing and Planning
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Additional guidance for selective licensing designations made under the General Approval 2024

In respect of designations made under section 80(1) of the Act, local housing authorities in England are requested to observe the following best practice:

  • To submit data on their licensing scheme to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as described in any guidance published by the Ministry.

  • To publish on their website the outcome of any licensing review undertaken pursuant to their legal duty to review the operation of schemes under section 84(3) of the Act.

  • For local housing authorities in mayoral strategic authority areas, to include the mayor in the consultation on any proposed designation.

Back to top