Oldham Council has approved a new selective licensing scheme covering private rented single household properties across 7 wards in the town with a licence fee set at £582 per property. In the public consultation landlord respondents expressed concerns about the proposed scheme including that they were unclear what the previous scheme had achieved and whether the renewed scheme would make any difference, however, 74% of resident and business respondents thought the council "should have more control over the way landlords manage their properties" and "58% of residents and businesses thought that selective licensing would improve their area".

During the Cabinet meeting where the scheme was approved it was noted that "Other options had been considered to address problems in the private rented sector, however these were too narrow in addressing management standards and do not provide a holistic, strategic response to raising management standards." A further consultation is to be held on whether a second licensing phase should be approved covering more wards of the town.