Hackney Landlord Licence Fees: Two-Part Costs and How to Stack Discounts

The Two-Part Fee Structure

Every Hackney property licence is split into two payments. Part A is paid when you submit the application — it covers the cost of processing and assessing your application. Part B is invoiced later, after the council reviews your documents, issues a notice of intent, and decides to grant the licence.

The critical point: Part A is non-refundable. If the council rejects your application because you submitted the wrong documents, applied under the wrong scheme, or failed the fit-and-proper test, you lose the entire Part A payment. For an HMO licence, that is £840 gone.

Three Discounts That Stack

Hackney offers three fee discounts, and they are cumulative — you can claim all three if you qualify.

EPC discount (off Part B): An Energy Performance Certificate rated B or higher knocks £100 off Part B. Rating C gets a smaller £50 discount. You need a valid EPC at the time of application.

Accredited landlord discount (off Part B): Active accreditation with the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS/UKLAP), NRLA, or Unipol earns a £100 reduction on Part B. The accreditation must be current when you submit — expired certificates do not count.

Multi-dwelling discount (off Part A): If you are licensing multiple self-contained units in the same building and submit the applications at the same time, the second and subsequent units each get £100 off Part A.

Worked Examples

Example 1: Selective licence, maximum discounts. An accredited landlord with an EPC B property in a selective ward, licensing one flat:

• Part A: £555 (no multi-dwelling discount — single unit)
• Part B: £370 − £100 (EPC B) − £100 (accreditation) = £170
• Total: £725 (saving £200)

Example 2: HMO licence, two flats in one building. An unaccredited landlord licensing two HMO flats with EPC C ratings:

• First flat: Part A £840, Part B £560 − £50 (EPC C) = £510. Total: £1,350
• Second flat: Part A £840 − £100 (multi-dwelling) = £740, Part B £510. Total: £1,250
• Combined: £2,600 (saving £200 versus two standard applications)

The Non-Refundable Part A Risk

Part A fees — £555 for selective, £840 for HMO — are gone the moment you submit, regardless of outcome. Common mistakes that cause forfeiture:

• Applying under the wrong scheme (selective when you need additional HMO)
• Uploading an expired gas safety certificate or an EICR with C1/C2 codes
• Miscounting households (three sharers forming three households, not one)
• Failing to serve written notices on freeholders and mortgage lenders before submission

A single error on any of these can burn through £555–£840 with no recourse. The council's refund policy is explicit: overpayments and council processing errors are refunded, but landlord errors are not.

When Part B Gets Invoiced

Part B is not due upfront. The council issues it only after completing its assessment and sending you a notice of intent with proposed licence conditions. You have at least 14 days to review and object to those conditions before the final decision. Once the final decision is made and Part B is paid, the licence is formally granted for up to five years.

For the complete fee breakdown, discount stacking worksheet, and a pre-submission checklist that guards against Part A forfeiture, see the Hackney landlord licensing guide.

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