A landlord has challenged Thurrock Council over selective licensing rules which he says could prevent landlords from letting otherwise conventional two-bedroom family homes to couples with children.

Martin Allen, who owns two properties potentially affected by its new licensing scheme, is baffled by conditions which impose a maximum occupancy of two people where one of the two bedrooms measures less than 10.22 sq m. This applies to all properties covered by selective licensing, including ordinary family homes occupied by a single household.

The council told him that where a property has a maximum permitted occupancy of two people, for example one in each bedroom, and they chose to share a single bedroom, that would be a matter of personal choice. If, however, there were no alternative sleeping arrangements available and they were effectively compelled to share a room, the property could be considered overcrowded.

A council spokesman tells LandlordZONE that if a couple currently living in a two-person licensed property have a baby, it would allow them to continue living there but once the family moves out, the landlord must return to the maximum number of persons permitted under the licence.

Advised

Allen was advised that if this restriction was breached, factors that may be taken into account include the extent of a landlord’s knowledge of the potential overcrowding and whether any reasonable steps were taken to address the situation once it became known.

“Apparently if there are already more than two people in occupancy, that’s OK, they can stay, but if they leave and I re-let the property I have to set the maximum occupancy at two people, for a two-bedroom house. It seems like complete madness,” he says.

He says the rules also seem to suggest that if he has a couple living in a house limited to two people who decide to have a baby, the council will test his knowledge of this and what steps he took to address the situation when deciding whether to take action.

Question

However, Allen says it doesn’t answer the question of whether the licensing scheme conditions apply if a future tenant couple decide they want to sleep in the same room. “What is the purpose of having a one-person restriction, as it would leave a whole bedroom free?” he asks.

“I fully appreciate a couple living there now will not have to vacate but it appears a new couple will if they decide to have a baby.”

He adds: “I am being asked to trust that they will make decisions based on what I am being unofficially told, which provides no legal fall back. My concern is that the licensing conditions will prevent me - and maybe other landlords - from letting an otherwise conventional two-bedroom house to a couple with a child in the future, thereby reducing the available properties to families."

Thurrock's selective licensing scheme is relatively new and has already been through a legal challenge. The High Court rejected the challenge in July 2026 and ruled that the scheme was lawful.

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