Brent Section 257 Converted Flats: Do They Need an HMO Licence?

Section 257 of the Housing Act 2004 classifies certain converted buildings as HMOs even when every flat inside them is self-contained. Since Brent launched its borough-wide Additional HMO Licensing Scheme on 2 February 2026, qualifying buildings need a licence — and most freeholders and flat owners have no idea they are caught.

What Is a Section 257 Converted Building?

A section 257 HMO is a building that has been converted into self-contained flats where both of the following are true:

1. The conversion work did not comply with the appropriate building standards and still does not comply. For work completed before 1 June 1992 (or dealt with by regulation 20 of the Building Regulations 1991), the test is against standards equivalent to those regulations; for other conversions, it is against the requirements in force at the time.
2. Fewer than two-thirds of the individual flats are owner-occupied for this test: occupied by a leaseholder with a term over 21 years, the freeholder, or a member of their household.

The classic example is a Victorian or Edwardian house in Brent that was split into flats decades ago. If the conversion failed the relevant building standards test and fewer than two-thirds of those flats are owner-occupied, the entire building is treated as an HMO under section 257 — even though each tenant has their own front door, kitchen, and bathroom.

Why Does This Trigger Licensing in Brent?

Before February 2026, section 257 buildings in Brent only needed a licence if they met the mandatory HMO threshold (five or more occupants from two or more households). The new Additional HMO Licensing Scheme extended coverage borough-wide to include section 257 converted buildings regardless of occupant numbers.

This means the freeholder or person in control of the building must apply for an additional HMO licence at the standard fee: £1,040 for a new application (£540 Part A + £500 Part B) or £940 for a renewal.

How to Tell If Your Building Is Caught

The difficult part is establishing whether the conversion complied with the relevant Building Regulations. Here is what to check:

Building control records: contact Brent Council's building control department or the approved inspector who handled the conversion. Records showing compliance with the standards applicable at the time can help establish that the building does not meet this part of the section 257 test. Missing records do not by themselves prove non-compliance; seek other evidence about the conversion and its current condition.

Physical inspection: fire separation, protected escape routes, and other building features can reveal current safety issues, but an inspection alone does not establish whether the conversion complied with the standards in force at the time.

Owner-occupier count: even a non-compliant conversion escapes section 257 classification if two-thirds or more of the flats are owner-occupied. In practice, this exemption is rare in Brent's rental-heavy areas like Harlesden, Kilburn, and Willesden.

Who Applies for the Licence?

The proposed licence holder should be the person or organisation in direct receipt of rental income with legal authority to manage the dwelling and fund repairs; this is often the freeholder for a section 257 building. If a leaseholder sublets rooms within their flat, that flat may need its own licence: selective licensing for a single household or one/two-person let in a designated ward, additional HMO licensing for three or four people from two or more households sharing basic amenities, or mandatory HMO licensing for five or more from two or more households sharing basic amenities.

The application goes through Brent's online licensing portal using the same process as any other HMO application, including floor plans, safety certificates, and fit-and-proper declarations.

What If You Are a Leaseholder, Not the Freeholder?

If you own a leasehold flat in a section 257 building, the building-level licence is generally held by the landlord or managing agent responsible for the building and its rent. You may still need a separate licence for your own flat if you let it as a licensable HMO, and enforcement action could affect the building's management.

If you suspect your building qualifies as a section 257 HMO and the freeholder has not applied for a licence, raising it with them (or their managing agent) protects your position. A tenant in any flat in the building could apply for a Rent Repayment Order against the person in control of an unlicensed HMO; for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026, the maximum reclaimable period is 24 months.

The Practical Challenge

Section 257 is the most legally complex corner of Brent's licensing regime. Determining whether a decades-old conversion met the building regulations requires records that frequently do not exist, and the physical inspection is subjective.

If you are unsure whether your building is caught, the Brent landlord licensing guide includes a section 257 assessment checklist and explains how to request building control records from Brent Council. For genuinely ambiguous cases, the safest approach is to contact [email protected] directly — getting a clear answer from the council is better than guessing wrong and facing a civil penalty of up to £40,000 for relevant offences committed from 1 May 2026.

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