Barking and Dagenham Selective Licensing Areas: All 19 Wards Covered

Unlike some London boroughs that designate selective licensing in specific wards, Barking and Dagenham went borough-wide. Every one of the 19 electoral wards is covered, organised into three contiguous designation areas that together blanket the entire municipal area.

The Three Designation Areas

LBBD split the borough into three designation areas when making the selective licensing order on 6 January 2025. The scheme took effect on 6 April 2025 and runs through 5 April 2030.

The three areas exist for administrative purposes — the rules, fees and conditions are identical across all three. There is no difference in what landlords must do whether the property sits in Area 1, 2 or 3.

The practical consequence is simple: if your property is privately rented anywhere within LBBD's boundaries, the selective licensing scheme applies (unless an HMO licence takes priority or a statutory exemption applies).

Why Borough-Wide Coverage Was Possible

Before December 2024, councils needed explicit Secretary of State confirmation to introduce selective licensing covering more than 20% of their geographical area or private rented housing stock. The Housing Act 2004: General Approval 2024, effective 23 December 2024, removed that requirement entirely.

LBBD's Council Assembly had already approved the scheme on 18 September 2024, anticipating the regulatory change. The new general approval allowed the council to designate all 19 wards without central government sign-off.

How to Confirm Coverage

The LBBD portal includes an address lookup tool that confirms whether a specific property falls within the designation. You enter the address and the system tells you which scheme classification applies.

Two points worth knowing:

First, the address tool confirms geographic coverage, but the licence type depends on occupancy — who lives there and how many households they form. A property in a covered area still doesn't need a selective licence if it's owner-occupied or falls under an HMO scheme instead.

Second, if there's ever a discrepancy between the council's online mapping tools and the signed designation schedules, the text of the signed public notices (Designation Areas 1, 2 and 3) takes legal precedence. This is unlikely to matter for most properties, but it's relevant for boundary-edge properties where mapping data might lag behind the legal instrument.

Previous Licensing Schemes

LBBD has run selective licensing before, but not at this scale. Previous schemes covered selected wards based on specific evidence of poor housing conditions or anti-social behaviour. The 2025 scheme is the first to cover the entire borough, reflecting the council's position that private rented sector conditions warrant regulation across all areas.

For a walkthrough of the selective licensing application process, fees and conditions for LBBD properties in any ward, see the Barking and Dagenham Landlord Licensing Guide.

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