Croydon Additional HMO Licensing: Borough-Wide Rules for Smaller Shared Houses

What Additional HMO Licensing Covers

Croydon's additional HMO licensing scheme — officially the Croydon Additional HMO Licensing scheme 2026 (CAHMOL 2026) — targets smaller shared houses that fall below the national mandatory HMO threshold. It applies to:

• Properties occupied by three or four people forming two or more separate households who share amenities like a kitchen or bathroom (Section 254 HMOs under the Housing Act 2004)
• It does not cover qualifying Section 257 converted blocks, which Croydon lists among the exceptions to this scheme

The scheme runs borough-wide across all 28 Croydon wards — unlike selective licensing, there is no ward restriction. It started on 25 September 2026 and expires on 24 September 2031.

How It Differs from Mandatory HMO Licensing

Mandatory HMO licensing is a permanent national scheme covering larger shared properties with five or more occupiers from two or more households. Additional HMO licensing fills the gap for smaller shared houses that mandatory licensing does not reach.

Under the Housing Act 2004's hierarchy, mandatory HMO licensing takes priority. If your property houses five or more occupiers, it falls under the mandatory scheme regardless. The additional scheme only applies where occupancy is three or four people from multiple households.

A property that holds an HMO licence (either mandatory or additional) is automatically exempt from selective licensing under Section 79(2). You do not need both.

Who Needs This Licence

The most common scenario: a landlord lets a house to three unrelated tenants who each have their own bedroom but share the kitchen and bathroom. Three people from three separate households sharing amenities — that is a Section 254 HMO, and under CAHMOL 2026 it needs an additional HMO licence.

Other qualifying setups include a couple plus one unrelated tenant (two households), or three friends who are not family members (three households).

If all occupants are from the same family — a couple and their children, for instance — the property is not an HMO and does not need an HMO licence. It might need a selective licence if it is in one of the 14 designated wards.

What It Costs

The standard five-year additional HMO licence is £1,250, split into:

• Part A: £750 paid at application submission (non-refundable)
• Part B: £500 paid before the licence is granted

A reduced one-year licence, issued where the council has compliance concerns, costs £850.

Accreditation and EPC Band B or above discounts are available for additional HMO licences. Croydon lists LLAS accreditation, NRLA or UKALA membership, and certain professional memberships as qualifying. The multi-dwelling discount applies only to selective licences.

Planning Permission and Article 4

Croydon made a borough-wide Article 4 Direction on 28 January 2020, which took effect on 28 January 2021. This removes the permitted development right to convert a single dwellinghouse (Use Class C3) into a small HMO (Use Class C4, three to six unrelated occupiers). All new HMO conversions in Croydon now require express planning permission.

Holding a property licence does not grant planning approval. Operating an HMO without the required planning consent exposes the landlord to separate enforcement action under planning law, even if the property is fully licensed under the Housing Act 2004.

Application Process

Applications go through Croydon Council's Metastreet online portal. You will need to upload a gas safety certificate, an EICR, an EPC, dimensioned floor plans, a fire risk assessment (mandatory for HMOs), and a tenancy agreement. The council processes the application, inspects the property before granting an additional HMO licence, issues a draft licence with conditions for your review, and then issues the final licence after the Part B payment.

For a complete walkthrough of the application process, document requirements, and fee discount stacking, see our Croydon Landlord Licensing Guide.

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