Enfield Additional HMO Licensing: Borough-Wide Scheme for 2025–2030

Enfield Council runs a borough-wide additional HMO licensing scheme alongside the national mandatory HMO rules. Between them, every shared house in the borough that is occupied by three or more people from two or more households needs a licence — whether it is a traditional bedsit, a professional house share, or a student let.

Additional vs Mandatory: Which Applies?

The dividing line is five occupants:

Additional HMO licensing covers properties with three or four occupants from two or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom, or toilet. This is Enfield's own scheme under Section 56 of the Housing Act 2004, running borough-wide from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2030.

Mandatory HMO licensing covers properties with five or more occupants from two or more households sharing facilities. This is a national requirement under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004, applying everywhere in England without a time limit or geographic boundary. The 2018 order removed the old three-storey threshold, so even a ground-floor flat with five sharers needs a mandatory licence.

The additional HMO licence costs £1,450 (£800 Part 1, £650 Part 2). A mandatory HMO licence costs £1,616 for up to five lettable rooms (£889 Part 1, £727 Part 2), plus £181.50 for each additional lettable room. Both applications are made through the council's online portal.

What Counts as a Household?

Under Section 258 of the Housing Act 2004, a household means members of the same family: married or cohabiting couples (including same-sex partners), parents, children, stepchildren, grandchildren, siblings, aunts, uncles, nephews, and nieces. Foster children count as family.

Everyone who is not part of the same family forms their own single-person household. Three unrelated professionals sharing a flat are three separate households — making the property an HMO from day one.

Section 257 Buildings: The Important Exception

A building converted into self-contained flats may be a Section 257 HMO if the conversion work did not comply with the applicable building standards and still does not, and fewer than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied. Enfield's additional licensing scheme excludes the Section 257 building at the building level.

But that exclusion does not mean the individual flats escape licensing. Each flat inside a Section 257 building is assessed on its own:

• Let to a single person or family in a designated selective ward → selective licence
• Let to three or four sharers → additional HMO licence
• Let to five or more sharers → mandatory HMO licence

HMO Licensing and Planning Permission

Holding an HMO licence under the Housing Act does not grant planning permission. Enfield enacted a borough-wide Article 4 Direction in 2013 that removed permitted development rights for converting a family home (Use Class C3) into a small HMO (Use Class C4, 3–6 occupants).

If your property was originally a family dwelling and this is a change from C3 to C4 use, you need express planning permission unless the HMO use is already lawfully established. Operating without planning permission is a separate offence under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 — the HMO licence does not protect you.

Licence Conditions for HMOs

Every HMO licence in Enfield carries mandatory conditions including:

• Annual gas safety certification and five-year EICR compliance
• Working smoke alarms on every storey and CO detectors in combustion rooms
• Mandatory tenant referencing before granting tenancies
• Written anti-social behaviour procedures
• Waste management and bin storage rules

HMO licences also impose minimum room sizes and amenity ratios — see our post on Enfield HMO room size standards for the full breakdown.

For the complete application walkthrough, document checklist, and fee discount guide, see our Enfield Landlord Licensing Guide.

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