Redbridge Selective Licensing Wards Map: Which Areas Need a Licence

Redbridge runs two active selective licensing schemes and five wards sit outside both. Getting the ward wrong means either paying for a licence you don't need or, worse, letting without one and facing penalties up to £30,000 per offence.

Scheme 3 Wards (From 1 November 2023)

Selective Licensing Scheme 3 covers two wards:

• Ilford Town
• Valentines

Every privately rented property in these wards occupied by a single person, a couple, a single family, or two unrelated individuals needs a selective licence. HMOs with three or more people forming two or more households fall under the separate additional or mandatory HMO licensing regime instead.

Scheme 4 Wards (From 8 April 2024)

Scheme 4 extended selective licensing to 15 more wards:

• Aldborough
• Barkingside
• Chadwell
• Churchfields
• Clementswood
• Cranbrook
• Fairlop
• Goodmayes
• Hainault
• Loxford
• Mayfield
• Newbury
• Seven Kings
• South Woodford
• Wanstead Village

The same occupancy rules apply: single-household lets and properties with up to two unrelated occupants need a selective licence here.

Exempt Wards

Five wards have no selective licensing designation:

• Bridge
• Clayhall
• Fullwell
• Monkhams
• Wanstead Park

A single-household let in these wards does not need a selective licence. However, additional HMO licensing (three or four people, two or more households) and mandatory HMO licensing (five or more people) still apply borough-wide, including in these five wards.

How to Check Your Property's Ward

Redbridge Council publishes interactive maps for both Scheme 3 and Scheme 4 on its selective licensing page. Enter your property's postcode to see which ward it falls in and whether that ward is covered.

For properties near a ward boundary, the council determines the ward by the property's physical entry point and council tax assessment record, not just the postcode. If your property sits on an edge, contact the licensing team at [email protected] to confirm before starting an application.

The council's online licensing portal also runs an automatic check when you enter the property address during an application. It flags the applicable scheme and licence type based on the address lookup.

What If the Ward Changes or a Scheme Expires?

Scheme 3 runs for five years from November 2023. Scheme 4 runs for five years from April 2024. If the council does not renew a scheme before it expires, properties in those wards would no longer need selective licences for single-household lets.

The 2024 General Approval removed the requirement for councils to get Secretary of State consent before extending selective licensing beyond 20% of their area. Redbridge can now renew or expand schemes with just a 10-week public consultation and evidence that the statutory criteria under Section 80 of the Housing Act 2004 are met.

If your property currently needs a licence, the practical step is to apply now and track renewal dates. Our Redbridge Landlord Licensing Guide includes a renewal and scheme expiry calendar that maps every deadline.

Quick Reference

Getting the ward check right is the first step in the licensing process. The complete Redbridge licensing guide walks through every step from address verification to application submission, with the 2026/27 fee schedule and a compliance checklist you can work through before you start the portal timer.

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