Selective Licensing in Finsbury Park, Hillrise and Tollington: Islington Scheme 1 Explained

Finsbury Park, Hillrise and Tollington were the first three Islington wards to come under selective licensing. If you let a property in any of these wards to a single household — one person, a couple, a family — you need a selective licence. Here is what this specific scheme covers and how it differs from the newer Scheme 2 designation.

Scheme 1 Dates

Islington's first selective licensing scheme came into force on 20 May 2024 and runs until 19 May 2029. Applications have been open since the scheme launched. If you have been letting a property in one of these three wards since May 2024 without a licence, you are already in breach — and the council's enforcement powers have been live for over two years.

Which Properties Need a Licence

Selective licensing targets non-HMO residential lettings. If the property is let to a single person, a couple or a single family, and it sits within the Finsbury Park, Hillrise or Tollington ward boundary, a selective licence is required. The fee is £850 per property — £450 Part A on application, £400 Part B on grant.

Properties that qualify as HMOs (three or more occupants from two or more households) are exempt from selective licensing because they need an HMO licence instead. The HMO licence takes precedence under section 79(2) of the Housing Act 2004.

Ward Boundaries Are Street-Level

Ward boundaries in Islington do not follow neat postcode lines. A single street can be split between Finsbury Park (designated) and Holloway (not designated). The property across the road from yours may have a completely different licensing obligation.

Finsbury Park ward sits in the north-east of the borough, bordered by Haringey to the north and Hackney to the east. Hillrise and Tollington are adjacent wards running south-west from Finsbury Park toward Archway and Tufnell Park. If your property sits near a boundary — particularly along the edges of Holloway, Arsenal or Highbury — use Islington Council's GIS-based address lookup tool to confirm the exact ward, not the postcode.

Why These Three Wards Were Designated First

The council designated Finsbury Park, Hillrise and Tollington based on evidence of poor property conditions, anti-social behaviour linked to the private rented sector, and low housing demand relative to other parts of the borough. The designation followed a formal public consultation under section 80(9) of the Housing Act 2004.

These three wards have some of the highest densities of private rented accommodation in Islington, with a significant proportion of older converted housing stock. The selective licensing scheme gives the council proactive enforcement powers — the ability to inspect, condition and penalise — rather than waiting for tenant complaints.

Interaction with Scheme 2

Seven more wards are due to come under selective licensing on 23 November 2026 (Scheme 2): Barnsbury, Caledonian, Highbury, Junction, Laycock, Mildmay and Tufnell Park. The two schemes have different start and end dates. A landlord with properties in both Scheme 1 and Scheme 2 wards needs a licence for each property, and the licence terms may expire at different times.

Seven wards remain outside any selective licensing designation: Arsenal, Bunhill, Canonbury, Clerkenwell, Holloway, St Mary's & St James', and St Peter's & Canalside. Single-household lets in those wards do not currently need a selective licence — though HMO licensing applies borough-wide if the occupancy threshold is met.

Fees, Discounts and Deadlines

The standard selective licence fee is £850. Discounts of £75 (LLAS or NRLA accreditation) and £50 (EPC rating A to C) are available on the Part B payment and can be combined for a maximum saving of £125. Discounts are forfeited if the application is late, the council has issued a formal warning, or you require two or more requests for missing documents.

Scheme 1 runs until 19 May 2029, but each licence expires on the date shown on its certificate. A licence granted in May 2024 may expire around the same time as the scheme; other grant dates produce different expiry dates. If the council renews the scheme, landlords will need to apply again — and the continuous renewal discount (£25) rewards landlords who apply before the old licence expires.

Our Islington Landlord Licensing Guide covers the full application process for both selective licensing schemes, including the address lookup, document assembly, portal walkthrough and post-grant compliance tracking.

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