London Landlord Licensing Guide 2026: Which Boroughs Require a Licence

Three Types of Licensing in London

Every London borough can operate up to three types of property licensing under the Housing Act 2004:

Mandatory HMO licensing applies in all 32 boroughs plus the City of London. Any property occupied by five or more people from two or more separate households who share a kitchen, bathroom, or toilet needs a mandatory HMO licence. This is national law — no borough can opt out.

Additional HMO licensing is a discretionary scheme under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004. A borough designates all or part of its area for licensing of smaller HMOs — typically three or four occupants from two or more households. Not every borough runs one. Those that do set their own start and end dates, fee structures, and geographic coverage.

Selective licensing is a discretionary scheme under Part 3 that covers all private rented properties in a designated area, including single-household lets. It is the broadest type of licensing and requires the borough to demonstrate specific housing problems (poor conditions, anti-social behaviour, high deprivation) in the designated area.

East London: Active Schemes in 2026

East London boroughs have been among the most active in property licensing:

Tower Hamlets runs a borough-wide additional HMO scheme (1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029) covering all HMOs with three or more persons from two or more households. Its selective licensing scheme expired on 30 September 2026. Mandatory HMO licensing applies borough-wide as in all of England.

Newham operates one of the largest selective licensing schemes in England, covering the entire borough. Every private rented property in Newham — HMO or single household — needs a licence. Newham also runs additional HMO licensing.

Barking and Dagenham runs a borough-wide selective scheme alongside additional HMO licensing, covering virtually all private rentals.

Hackney, Waltham Forest, and Redbridge each run combinations of additional and selective schemes across designated wards.

Havering has introduced selective licensing in specific wards, while boroughs like Greenwich and Lewisham run additional HMO schemes in targeted areas.

How to Check If Your London Property Needs a Licence

The quickest route is the Mayor of London's Property Licence Checker at london.gov.uk, which lets you enter a postcode and see which licensing schemes apply. However, the checker is basic — it flags the schemes that exist in your borough but does not resolve edge cases like Section 257 converted flats, resident landlord exemptions, or properties that straddle ward boundaries.

For a definitive answer, go to your borough council's licensing page. Each council publishes its current scheme designations, geographic boundaries, fee schedules, and application portal. For Tower Hamlets, the licensing pages are at towerhamlets.gov.uk under Housing > Property Licensing.

The General Approval 2024

A significant change arrived in December 2024 with the Housing Act 2004: Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Selective Licensing of Other Residential Accommodation (England) General Approval 2024. This removed the requirement for councils to get Secretary of State approval before introducing selective licensing schemes covering more than 20% of their private rented sector stock or geographical area.

The practical effect: London boroughs can now introduce or expand selective licensing schemes faster and with less central government scrutiny. Councils still need to complete the statutory ten-week consultation and meet the legal criteria, but the approval bottleneck is gone. Expect more boroughs to propose new selective schemes over the next few years.

What London Landlords Should Do Now

If you let property in London, check every borough where you hold rental properties. Do not assume that because one borough does not have additional or selective licensing, the one next door is the same.

For each property:

1. Confirm whether mandatory HMO licensing applies (five or more occupants, two or more households)
2. Check whether the borough runs an additional HMO scheme and whether your property falls within it
3. Check whether the borough runs a selective scheme and whether your property's address is in a designated area
4. If a licence is required, check the deadline — some schemes have transition periods; others require immediate application

Operating without a required licence in any London borough exposes you to civil penalties of up to £40,000 per offence and rent repayment orders of up to 24 months' rent.

For Tower Hamlets specifically, our Tower Hamlets Landlord Licensing Guide covers the full application process, fees, conditions, and ongoing compliance requirements in detail.

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