Barking and Dagenham HMO Licence: Additional and Mandatory Schemes Explained
Whether a shared property needs an HMO licence depends on its occupancy and property type. LBBD runs two HMO licensing schemes side by side — mandatory for larger houses, additional for smaller ones — and with the borough-wide Article 4 Direction in place since February 2022, a C3-to-C4 change of use may also need planning permission.
Mandatory vs Additional: Which One Applies
Mandatory HMO licensing covers any property let to five or more people forming two or more separate households who share kitchen, bathroom or toilet facilities. This is a national duty under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004 — it applies everywhere in England, not just LBBD.
Purpose-built flats in blocks containing three or more self-contained units are exempt from mandatory HMO licensing under the LBBD framework.
Additional HMO licensing fills the gap below the mandatory threshold. LBBD's borough-wide scheme (live since 9 January 2025, running until 8 January 2030) catches properties with three or four occupants forming two or more households. Two friends sharing a flat are two separate households under the Act, even if they get along perfectly.
The dividing line comes down to counting heads and households. Under section 258 of the Housing Act 2004, a household means people related by blood, marriage, civil partnership or cohabitation. Two unrelated individuals living together are two households.
Room Size Requirements
LBBD applies the national statutory minimums plus stricter East London HMO standards:
| Room type | National minimum | LBBD/East London standard |
|---|---|---|
| Single bedroom (separate kitchen) | 6.51 m² | 8.5 m² |
| Double bedroom (separate kitchen) | 10.22 m² | 10.22 m² |
| Single bedroom with kitchen inside | — | 14.0 m² |
| Double bedroom with kitchen inside | — | 18.0 m² |
| Communal kitchen only | — | 6.0 m² |
| Kitchen/diner or living room | — | 8.5 m² |
Any room under 4.64 m² cannot be used as sleeping accommodation at all. Ceiling heights below 1.5 metres are excluded from the floor area calculation.
Section 257 Converted Blocks
A section 257 HMO is a building converted into self-contained flats where the conversion didn't comply with the 1991 Building Regulations and fewer than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied. These buildings are exempt from both mandatory and additional HMO licensing at the building level.
However, each individually rented flat inside a section 257 block still needs its own selective licence. A Victorian house split into three flats without building regs approval means three separate selective licence applications at £950 each — not one HMO licence.
Free Download
Get the Barking and Dagenham Landlord Licensing Checklist
Everything in this article as a printable checklist — plus action plans and reference guides you can start using today.
HMO Fees
- Additional HMO (3–4 occupants): £1,000 Part A + £400 Part B = £1,400 total
- Mandatory HMO (5 rooms): £1,000 Part A + £500 Part B = £1,500 total
- Mandatory HMO (6–9 rooms): £1,000 Part A + £600 Part B = £1,600 total
- Mandatory HMO (10–14 rooms): £1,000 + £700 = £1,700
- Mandatory HMO (15–19 rooms): £1,000 + £800 = £1,800
- Mandatory HMO (20+ rooms): £1,000 + £1,000 = £2,000
Silver and Gold compliance discounts apply to Part B, same as selective licences.
Don't Forget the Article 4 Direction
LBBD's borough-wide Article 4 Direction (confirmed 18 January 2022, effective 22 February 2022) removes permitted development rights for changing a dwelling from C3 to a small HMO in C4 use. A C3-to-C4 change of use therefore needs express planning permission; a property licence doesn't count as planning approval.
Operating an HMO without planning permission exposes you to enforcement notices and potential proceeds of crime proceedings, completely separate from the licensing penalties.
The Barking and Dagenham Landlord Licensing Guide walks through the full HMO application process, room-by-room measurement requirements and licence conditions.
Get Your Free Barking and Dagenham Landlord Licensing Checklist
Download the Barking and Dagenham Landlord Licensing Checklist — a printable guide with checklists, scripts, and action plans you can start using today.