A Practitioner's Guide to Housing Licensing and Enforcement

Housing licensing sits across housing law, criminal and regulatory law and public law. It is an area of growing practical importance yet there remains limited practitioner literature addressing the framework in an integrated way.This book provides a structured and practical account of the licensing regimes under the Housing Act 2004, covering both England and Wales, and includes the amendments made by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It is written for local authority lawyers and officers as well as those representing landlords, agents or tenants. In particular it is for those who may not necessarily consider themselves specialists but are increasingly asked to advise on housing licensing, enforcement and other consequences of non-compliance.CONTENTSPART I - THE STATUTORY LICENSING FRAMEWORKChapter 1: Introduction and Legislative ContextChapter 2 What Is a House in Multiple Occupation?Chapter 3: Mandatory LicensingChapter 4: Additional LicensingChapter 5: Selective Licensing Under Part 3Chapter 6: Landlord Registration and Licensing in WalesPART II - LICENSING PROCEDURE AND LIABILITYChapter 7: Applications, Grant, Variation, Revocation and AppealsChapter 8: Who Is Responsible?Chapter 9: Licence ConditionsPART III - CRIMINAL AND CIVIL ENFORCEMENTChapter 10: Criminal Offences and ProsecutionChapter 11: Civil PenaltiesChapter 12: Rent Repayment OrdersChapter 13: Banning Orders, Management Orders & the Rogue Landlord DatabaseChapter 14: Investigatory PowersPART IV - HOUSING LICENSING IN PRACTICEChapter 15: Practical Compliance and Enforcement Strategy