The Housing Act 2004 introduced 'property licensing' from 2006 to ensure private rented homes are well managed. A named 'licence holder' is required for each property.
Oxford City Council decided on 10 March 2021 to introduce a new designation for Selective Licensing to cover the whole city to improve rented homes. This scheme started on 1 September 2022. This means all family homes or one / two person properties (non-HMOs) in Oxford will require a licence.
Selective licence conditions
All Selective licences are issued with the same standard conditions. Certain conditions are required by the Housing Act 2004 (mandatory conditions). As part of the designation of the scheme, the Council agreed the remaining conditions (discretionary conditions).
Download the standard selective licence conditions
Inspections
All selective licence properties are prioritised for inspection. We do not inspect before issue of a licence.
Inspections are under the Housing Act Part 1 Housing Health and Safety Rating System. The purpose of Selective Licensing is to improve property condition through the reduction of number of properties with significant hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.
Inspections are undertaken proactively and reactively in response to complaints:
- proactive inspections will normally be arranged with the licence holder (or named managing agent)
- reactive inspections are normally arranged with the complainant (tenant)
Officers will normally give written notice to the landlord, agent and occupants unless there has been a complaint and the nature of the complaint indicates a serious offence has occurred. In this case, the Housing Act 2004 permits officers to visit without giving notice.
The officer will need to be accompanied either by the landlord / agent or a tenant. Landlords or agents must give their tenants 24 hours notice of their intention to come to the inspection. Tenants are permitted to refuse a landlord entry to their room or property. If the complaint has been received by a tenant or neighbour, the officer may wish to speak to this person confidentially and ask the landlord or agent to remain outside the property or outside the room.
During an inspection, the officer will look at the exterior of the property, including yards, gardens, forecourts, outbuildings and all rooms inside the property. The officer will make notes and will take photographs to record the conditions on the day.
Following the inspection, the officer will confirm the outcome of inspection. If significant hazards are identified, normally a schedule of works will be sent requesting work is completed within a time frame, typically one to three months. If you disagree with the request or need additional time, you can discuss this with the officer. In some cases, we may decide to serve an Improvement Notice rather than a schedule of works. If works are not completed following a schedule of works, it is likely an Improvement Notice will be served. If an Improvement Notice is served, we will charge for our costs. There is a right of appeal against an Improvement Notice to the First-tier Tribunal.
