Harrow Selective Licence Fee: How Much It Costs and How the Two-Stage Payment Works

Harrow Council splits its licensing fees into two stages — a processing fee at application and an enforcement fee before the licence is granted. The total isn't always obvious from the council's website, which lists the parts separately across different pages.

Here's the straightforward breakdown.

Selective Licence Fees

The total cost for a selective licence is £786 per property for the full five-year term:

• Part A (processing): £686, paid at the point of online submission
• Part B (enforcement): £100, paid after the draft licence consultation period

Part A must be paid by card when you submit through the MyHarrow portal. Your application won't be processed without it. Part B is requested by email once the council has reviewed your application and completed the consultation period. If you don't pay Part B within five working days of the request, a late surcharge of £52 (rising to £54 for the 2026/27 fee cycle) is added automatically.

There are no early-bird discounts or accreditation concessions for selective licensing in Harrow. Membership of the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme doesn't reduce the fee.

HMO Licence Fees

Mandatory HMO fees are higher because the process includes a physical inspection:

• Standard mandatory HMO: approximately £1,900 total (based on a five-bed, five-person baseline)
• Inspection fee: £500 for a standard HMO, or £100 per self-contained unit

The proposed additional HMO licence fees for the 2026 renewal (if the scheme is re-designated) were estimated at £1,818 for new applications and £1,285 for renewals — the highest additional HMO fee in London according to tracking databases.

What's Refundable and What Isn't

Part A processing fees are entirely non-refundable once administrative validation has started, regardless of whether your application is later refused, withdrawn, or rejected for missing documents.

Part B enforcement fees can be refunded if the council formally refuses the application before the licence is granted, or if you can demonstrate the application was submitted for a property outside the designated area.

No pro-rata refunds are given if you sell the property, demolish it, or convert it back to a single-family dwelling during the five-year licence term.

Costs Beyond the Council Fee

The council fee covers the licence itself. You'll also need to pay separately for the compliance documents required before you can apply:

• Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) — issued by a Gas Safe registered engineer, renewed annually
• Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) — valid five years, must show no C1 or C2 defects
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) — valid ten years, minimum Band E
• Fire Risk Assessment — mandatory for HMOs, recommended for selective properties
• Dimensioned floor plans showing room sizes in square metres

These trade certificates come from independent engineers and are not included in the council's fee.

Our Harrow landlord licensing guide includes a pre-application document checklist and the full fee schedule across all three licensing regimes so you can budget before you start the portal application.

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