Do I Need a Property Licence in Redbridge? How to Check

Most landlords in Redbridge need some form of property licence, but which one depends on two things: how many people live in the property and how they're related to each other.

Start With Who Lives There

Under the Housing Act 2004, the licence type is determined by occupant count and household structure. A household is a group of people related by blood, marriage, civil partnership, adoption, fostering, or step-relationships. Everyone else forms their own household.

Five or more people, two or more households, sharing amenities → You need a mandatory HMO licence. This applies borough-wide in Redbridge, in every ward.

Three or four people, two or more households, sharing amenities → You need an additional HMO licence. Also borough-wide — the council's additional licensing designation covers all wards.

Two unrelated people sharing → This counts as two households, but in Redbridge it falls under selective licensing, not additional HMO. You need a selective licence if the property is in a Scheme 3 or Scheme 4 ward.

Single person, couple, or single family → You need a selective licence if the property is in a designated ward.

Then Check the Ward

Selective licensing only applies in designated wards. Use the council's interactive maps on the selective licensing page to check.

Scheme 3 wards (from November 2023): Ilford Town and Valentines.

Scheme 4 wards (from April 2024): Aldborough, Barkingside, Chadwell, Churchfields, Clementswood, Cranbrook, Fairlop, Goodmayes, Hainault, Loxford, Mayfield, Newbury, Seven Kings, South Woodford, and Wanstead Village.

Exempt wards: Bridge, Clayhall, Fullwell, Monkhams, and Wanstead Park. A single-household let in these wards does not need a selective licence. But HMO licensing still applies — if three or more people from two or more households share basic amenities, you need a licence regardless of the ward.

Common Scenarios

You let a two-bed flat to a couple in Goodmayes. One household, one ward covered by Scheme 4. You need a selective licence.

You let a three-bed house to three unrelated working professionals in Barkingside. Three people, three households, sharing a kitchen and bathroom. This is an additional HMO, not a selective let. You need an additional HMO licence — and it would apply even if the property were in an exempt ward.

You let a house to a family of four in Clayhall. One household in an exempt ward. No licence required.

You let a house to a family of four in Ilford Town. One household in a Scheme 3 ward. You need a selective licence.

You let a six-bed shared house to six unrelated tenants anywhere in Redbridge. Six people, six households, sharing amenities. This is a mandatory HMO — borough-wide, no ward check needed.

Where Landlords Get Caught

The most dangerous misclassification is treating a shared house as a single-household let. Three unrelated tenants sharing a three-bed terrace look like a normal let, but they legally form three separate households. That makes the property an HMO, and in Redbridge it triggers the additional licensing requirement with a 3-household fee of £1,969.60 — not the £997.69 selective fee.

The penalties for letting without the correct licence run up to £30,000 per offence as a civil penalty, and tenants can claim a rent repayment order recovering up to 24 months of rent for offences from May 2026 onward.

Section 257 Converted Flats

If your property is a building converted into self-contained flats where the conversion didn't meet 1991 Building Regulations, and three or more flats are privately rented under unified ownership, the whole building needs an additional HMO licence. Individual flat owners in a Section 257 block may need their own selective licences for each let unit.

Exemptions

A narrow set of properties are exempt: resident landlord arrangements where you live in the property and let rooms to no more than two lodgers, social housing managed by registered providers, student accommodation directly owned and managed by a specified higher education institution, commercial or holiday lets, and properties subject to an active prohibition order or temporary exemption notice.

The Redbridge Landlord Licensing Guide includes a licence type decision worksheet that takes you through each test step by step, so you can confirm which licence applies and what it costs before you start the application.

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