The UK’s second largest landlord licensing scheme is about to launch.

Councillors in Nottingham are putting the final touches to a selective licensing zone that covers an estimated 32,000 private rented homes across the city.

The largest scheme started in January 2013, in Newham, East London, and manages more than 35,000 private rented homes.

In Nottingham, the licensing area expects to take in 91% of the homes in the city and surrounding neighbourhoods from August 1. The city council web site has a free tool that helps landlords identify if a rental property is in the licensing designated area.

The licence will last for up to five years and is issued for each property, not for each landlord.

Applications are already under process.

The licence cost varies between £480 for accredited properties and £780 for non-accredited homes.

Penalties for failing to licence a rented home include unlimited fines or up to £30,000 depending on the prosecution route adopted.

“The council believes that the fee should not lead to landlords increasing rent. The council recognises that some landlords may choose to do this,” says the council web site.

“The council has worked hard to offer lower fees to accredited landlords, with savings of £300 on the licence applications fee. If landlords do increase rents, this should be following the correct, legal procedures and should not exploit this opportunity. Income from the licence fees goes towards the cost of setting up, operating and delivering the schemes.

“The council is not permitted to make a profit from the scheme.”

The selective licensing scheme covers buy to let homes not already netted by house in multiple occupation licensing.

“The scheme is aimed at benefitting those good landlords who may struggle to get the rent they want because of the poor conditions of nearby properties. It should also get rogue landlords to change their behaviour or get out of the market altogether,” added a council statement.

More details and how to apply for the selective licensing scheme in Nottingham are here.