Do I Need an HMO Licence in Redbridge for 3 Tenants or a Flat Share?

The Three-Person Threshold in Redbridge

Redbridge runs a borough-wide Additional HMO Licensing scheme that catches properties most landlords would not consider an HMO. Under this scheme, any privately rented property occupied by three or four people forming two or more separate households and sharing basic amenities — kitchen, bathroom, or toilet — requires an additional HMO licence. This applies in every ward, including the five wards exempt from selective licensing.

The critical distinction is between occupants and households. Under Section 258 of the Housing Act 2004, a household is defined by family relationship — people related by blood, marriage, civil partnership, adoption, fostering, or step-relationships form a single household. Unrelated individuals each count as a separate household.

Common Scenarios That Trigger the HMO Requirement

Three unrelated professionals sharing a flat: Three households, three occupants, shared kitchen and bathroom. This is an additional HMO — not a selective licence property — regardless of which ward the flat is in.

A married couple plus one unrelated housemate: Two households (the couple forms one, the housemate another), three occupants. This also triggers additional HMO licensing.

A couple with a child plus one unrelated tenant: Two households, but one of them has two people. Three-plus occupants, two households — additional HMO licence required.

Two unrelated individuals sharing: Two households, two occupants. This stays below the HMO threshold. In a Scheme 3 or 4 ward, it needs a selective licence instead. In an exempt ward, no selective licence is needed, unless the property is part of a qualifying Section 257 building.

A family of four (parents and two children) renting a house: One household regardless of size. In a selective licensing ward, this needs a selective licence. In an exempt ward, no selective licence is needed unless it is part of a qualifying Section 257 building.

Why This Trips Up Landlords

The most common compliance failure in Redbridge is misclassifying a shared property as a single-household let. A landlord who rents a three-bedroom terrace in Seven Kings to three unrelated tenants might assume it needs a selective licence because the ward is in Scheme 4. It actually needs an additional HMO licence — a different application form, higher fees (starting at £1,865.34 for two households versus £997.69 for selective), and stricter conditions around fire safety, floor plans, and room sizes.

The fees scale with the number of households. Two households cost £1,865.34 in total. Three households cost £1,969.60. The Part A fee is fixed at £696.14 across all HMO categories, with the Part B fee increasing for each additional household band.

Section 257 Converted Flats

Redbridge's additional HMO designation also covers a specific building type: Section 257 converted blocks. These are buildings converted into self-contained flats where the building work did not comply with the Building Regulations 1991 (or later regulations in force at the time), and all flats are privately rented under unified ownership or management. If the building has three or more such flats, it needs an additional HMO licence at the building level.

If the flats are separately owned and are not under unified management control, the building-level HMO licence does not apply. Each flat owner needs the appropriate selective licence for their unit if it is in a designated ward.

How to Check What You Need

Start with two questions: how many people live in the property, and how many separate households do they form? If the answer is three or more people from two or more households sharing amenities, it is an HMO in Redbridge and needs the appropriate licence — additional (3-4 people) or mandatory (5 or more).

The Redbridge Landlord Licensing Guide includes a licence-type decision workflow that walks through the occupancy test, ward check, and fee calculation step by step, so you apply for the right licence the first time.

See more England guides →