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On the 22 April 2026, Oxford City Council invites landlords and agents to hear an update on Selective and HMO licensing, and other items of interest.
The forum is via Zoom and starts at 10.00am. It will cover:
- Energy Efficiency funding - by EcoAgility
- Rent Assessments - by Valuation Office Agency
- Damp, Mould & Condensation - by Neil Marsden Training
- Renters Rights Act - by National Residential Landlords Association
- HMO & Selective Licensing update - by Oxford City Council
After signing up for the event, you will receive an acknowledgement from Eventbrite via email. This will have the zoom invite details; please check your spam/junk folders.
We are hoping to record this zoom session so participants will be asked to turn off cameras and mute microphones. The presentations will be available after the event.
Reserve tickets via the link below:
Oxford City Council Landlord & Agent Forum 22 April 2026 - Online Session Tickets
N.B. An agent focused forum is being planned for later in the Spring.
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Upcoming Changes Under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 |
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The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 represents the biggest reform of the private rented sector in decades, with significant implications for anyone letting one or more properties. The Act received Royal Assent in October 2025 and many of you will already be aware of the key changes coming into force on 1 May 2026.
Key Changes for Landlords:
- End of Section 21 ‘no‑fault’ evictions. Assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) will be abolished, and landlords will only be able to seek possession using updated Section 8 grounds. All new and existing tenancies will become periodic (rolling) contracts.
- Rules on rent, bidding and discrimination: The Act introduces clearer rules on rent increases, bans rental bidding wars, and strengthens protections for tenants with children, those on benefits, or those requesting to keep pets.
The Government has confirmed that the new system will apply to both existing and new tenancies. Official information sheets will be required to be given out to help tenants understand how their tenancy has changed.
More guidance can be found on The Government published official guidance pages, explaining the full range of changes and what landlords need to prepare for: Private landlords. Free training is available online. DASH offers online learning to support landlords in understanding their new responsibilities: DASH Online Learning.
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Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database |
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The Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database is a new, mandatory digital portal under the Renters' Rights Act in England being introduced later this year. It requires landlords to register themselves and their properties. It provides a central hub for safety certificates, compliance data, and contact info which is aimed at helping tenants verify property standards and aiding council enforcement.
Oxford City Council is looking for landlords to volunteer to take part in testing the new PRS database to help shape it. This will be private, and you will be asked to register and provide feedback on your experience in order to improve the database.
Landlords interested in taking part should contact us via email on rrt@oxford.gov.uk.
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Selective Licensing was introduced to improve property conditions by inspecting a proportion of licensed properties, and if required requesting improvement works.
Inspections are undertaken reactively (in response to an enquiry) or proactively based on priority scoring system.
Our pro-active inspection programme has a dedicated inspection team. When your property is due for inspection, you will receive an email with the inspection date and time. This email will be received from our booking system e-mail address SelectiveLicensingPropertyInspection@oxfordcitycouncil.onmicrosoft.com. Please ensure you have added this email to your contacts/safe senders list so the email does not go to your spam folder. The council will also contact the tenant to advise of the booking.
If you need to reschedule the inspection, please email our team at propertylicensing@oxford.gov.uk.
Following inspection, you will receive either confirmation the property is satisfactory (advice may be given on less serious items) or a request to complete remedial work. This will come from no-reply@metastreet.co.uk. Please ensure you have added this email to your contacts/safe senders list so the email does not go to your spam folder.
Please note, if you are a licence holder that manages a block licence property, you will be contacted by our Residential Regulation Team via rrt@oxford.gov.uk with a date and time for the visit.
If we need to inspect your property due to a reactive request, the Residential Regulation Team case officer will contact you directly.
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HMO Licensing - Additional Licensing Consultation |
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The consultation on renewing the Additional HMO Licensing scheme closed in January 2026. Thank you to those that attended the November Landlord forum to give feedback, and to those who completed the online consultation.
A decision on the schemes renewal is due to be taken at Cabinet meeting 18 March 2026.
An update will be provided soon after this date.
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New national rules require all households to be offered weekly food waste collections by 31 March 2026.
All private flats and shared houses (HMOs) not yet covered should have received red outdoor food waste bins, kitchen caddies, liners and guidance in December 2025 and January 2026.
In February our teams will do door‑to‑door support to help people use the service confidently.
Please share this webpage with your tenants. It has information to help them reduce, home compost and recycle food and garden waste: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/waste-and-recycling/household-waste/food-and-garden-waste
If your property is an HMO and does not have a red outdoor food waste bin, please contact recycling@oxford.gov.uk
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Single occupancy/family property (Non HMO)
E: rrt@oxford.gov.uk
T: 01865 252211
Selective Licence Applications E:
T: 01865 252285
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HMO Enquiries
E: rrt@oxford.gov.uk
T: 01865 252211
HMO Licence Applications E:
T: 01865 252307
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www.oxford.gov.uk
01865 249811
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Stay Connected:
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@OxfordCityCouncil
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@OxfordCity
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@oxfordcitycouncil
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