London licensing schemes
Which HMO licence does your borough require?
Every London borough sets its own licensing rules, fees and start dates, and 2026 has brought more changes than any year in a decade. Choose your borough for the current scheme, the fee, the documents required and what happens if you get it wrong.
Serving HMO landlords, agents & property managers across Greater London
Choose your borough
Licensing schemes we cover
| Borough | Licensing at a glance |
|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham | Additional + selective |
| Barnet | Additional + selective (3 wards) |
| Bexley | Mandatory + selective (Belvedere) |
| Brent | Additional + selective |
| Bromley | Mandatory only |
| Camden | Additional |
| City of London | Mandatory only |
| Croydon | Additional + selective, in force from 25 Sept 2026 |
| Ealing | Additional + selective |
| Enfield | Selective (17 wards) |
| Greenwich | Additional + selective |
| Hackney | Additional + selective, from May 2026 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | Additional + selective |
| Haringey | Additional + selective |
| Harrow | Selective |
| Havering | Additional + selective, from March 2026 |
| Hillingdon | Additional |
| Hounslow | Additional, to Dec 2030 |
| Islington | Additional live; new selective wards from 23 Nov 2026 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | Additional |
| Kingston upon Thames | Mandatory only |
| Lambeth | Additional + wide selective |
| Lewisham | Additional + selective |
| Merton | Additional + selective (wards) |
| Newham | Additional + selective |
| Redbridge | Additional + selective |
| Richmond upon Thames | Mandatory only |
| Southwark | Additional + selective (wards) |
| Sutton | Mandatory + additional |
| Tower Hamlets | Additional (selective ended Oct 2026) |
| Waltham Forest | Additional + selective |
| Wandsworth | Additional + selective |
| Westminster | Additional |
Summaries reviewed 2 October 2026 from public council information. Schemes and fees change, so confirm with your council before applying.
Not sure which scheme applies? Send us the postcode and how many people live in the property, and we will tell you which licence is needed and what it will cost — before you pay anything to the council. Most licence fees are non-refundable once submitted, so it is worth checking first.
The three schemes
Mandatory, additional and selective — what the difference is
Mandatory HMO licensing applies everywhere in England. A property needs a mandatory licence where five or more people in two or more households share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. This has been law since 2006 and does not expire.
Additional HMO licensing is a scheme a council chooses to adopt, usually catching smaller HMOs — typically three or four people in two or more households. It is time-limited, normally five years, and each borough sets its own fee and start date.
Selective licensing covers all privately rented homes in a designated area, including single households and family lets, regardless of how many people live there. It is usually restricted to named wards rather than the whole borough.
A property only needs one licence. Which one depends on occupancy and location, and the online application usually determines it for you — but the fee is taken before the assessment, so it pays to know in advance.
Common to every borough
The documents councils ask for
Requirements vary in detail, but almost every London licensing scheme asks for the same core set. We supply all of them from a single visit.
- Floor plan showing all floor levels, room uses and room sizes in square metres
- Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
- Gas safety certificate where the property has a gas supply
- Fire alarm test certificate, or a fire risk assessment where there is no mains wired system
- Emergency lighting test certificate where installed
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
- PAT test certificate where the landlord supplies appliances (required by some boroughs)
Missing one document is the most common reason an application is delayed or rejected — and several boroughs do not refund the fee.
Request a quote
Tell us about the property
Give us the postcode and we will confirm which licence applies, what the council will charge, and our fixed price for the documents.