HMO Licensing in London (by Borough)

London is where HMO licensing goes from "annoying admin" to "core investment risk". Some boroughs actively want your HMOs and treat you fairly. Others will licence everything that moves and hit you hard if you get it wrong.

Below is a landlord-usable overview, not a legal treatise. Always click through to the council / London Property Licensing map before you buy.

London-wide picture (2026)

Mandatory HMO licensing is the same everywhere: 5+ people, 2+ households, shared facilities.

The difference is:

• Where additional licensing extends this to all 3-4 person HMOs, often boroughwide.
• Where selective licensing means every rented property in certain wards needs a licence, even single lets.

HMO licence fees in London are typically GBP 800-1,800 for 5 years, with some boroughs over GBP 2,000, especially where fees are per room or split in two parts.

Use the GLA's property licensing map as your first stop for any postcode.

Borough snapshots

Focusing on the questions you actually need: is it boroughwide, what kind of schemes, how expensive, and how "friendly".

1. Camden

• Additional licensing: Active; Camden requires licences for smaller HMOs across most of the borough (3+ people, 2+ households, sharing facilities).
• Selective licensing: None boroughwide, but there are targeted schemes; check postcode.
• Fees: 2025/26 HMO fees around GBP 1,531 for a standard HMO (two-part fee).
• Article 4: Student and HMO controls in parts of the borough; planning team is cautious.
• Enforcement: Pro-enforcement, active on standards and overcrowding.

2. Hackney

• Additional licensing: Boroughwide additional HMO licensing from 1 May 2026 covering all HMOs with 3-4 occupants.
• Selective licensing: New selective scheme from 1 May 2026 covering 17 of 21 wards, about 76% of PRS.
• Fees: Around GBP 1,400 for additional HMO; selective licences GBP 925.
• Article 4: Student/HMO control areas; treat Hackney as interventionist.
• Enforcement: Aggressive expansion of licensing; expect strict enforcement.

3. Tower Hamlets

• Additional licensing: Boroughwide additional licensing from 1 April 2024 for all 3+ person HMOs.
• Selective licensing: A selective scheme covers specific areas; from April 2024 the additional scheme extends over the previous selective area too.
• Fees: Around GBP 1,500 for a 5-bed mandatory HMO (approx).
• Article 4: Article 4 in some areas for C3 to C4; check planning map if near student / high-HMO clusters.
• Enforcement: Very active; used as an example of tough licensing in London.

4. Newham

• Additional licensing: Practical effect is boroughwide licensing of all HMOs from 3 people upwards; one of the longest-running schemes in England.
• Selective licensing: Boroughwide selective licensing for almost all PRS; virtually every rented property requires a licence.
• Fees: New mandatory/additional HMOs around GBP 1,250+, two-part structure; selective licence also charged.
• Article 4: Operates Article 4 in some HMO hotspots; planning strict.
• Enforcement: Among the most aggressive in the UK: frequent prosecutions, civil penalties, publicity around fines.

5. Lewisham

• Additional licensing: Active scheme for smaller HMOs; council strongly uses additional licensing powers.
• Selective licensing: Lewisham has selective schemes in defined areas with poor conditions/ASB.
• Fees: HMO fees from GBP 500 for small to GBP 1,250+ for larger HMOs.
• Article 4: HMO Article 4 in specific areas; check planning pages.
• Enforcement: Medium-high; committed to licensing and using civil penalties.

6. Wandsworth

• Additional licensing: New additional and selective schemes start 1 July 2025, significantly expanding coverage.
• Selective licensing: New scheme covers defined private-rent hot spots (check map).
• Fees: Around GBP 1,450 for a 5-person shared house, plus more for extra units.
• Article 4: Some areas with Article 4 (e.g. around town centres/student zones).
• Enforcement: Moving from relatively light-touch to more structured and fee-heavy.

7. Lambeth

• Additional licensing: Operates additional HMO licensing; covers small HMOs in certain wards.
• Selective licensing: Selective licensing in designated wards.
• Fees: Around the London typical GBP 1,000-1,500 range; check exact schedule.
• Article 4: Article 4 directions in parts of the borough; planning cautious about new HMOs.
• Enforcement: Active, especially on rogue operators in key central/south zones.

8. Southwark

• Additional licensing: Additional HMO licensing for 3-4 person HMOs across significant parts of the borough.
• Selective licensing: Selective schemes in Bermondsey, Peckham and other PRS hotspots.
• Fees: In the usual inner-London band (~GBP 1,200-1,600 for a 5-year HMO licence).
• Article 4: Article 4 for HMOs in some zones.
• Enforcement: Pro-active; expects high standards, uses penalties.

9. Islington

• Additional licensing: Strong on additional HMO licensing; covers many smaller HMOs.
• Selective licensing: New selective licensing scheme launching in early 2026 across several wards post-consultation.
• Fees: In the higher inner-London bracket (~GBP 1,200-1,600 typical).
• Article 4: Article 4 directions in key areas; planning is strict.
• Enforcement: Historically tough; expects best-practice management.

10. Westminster

• Additional licensing: More limited HMO stock but selective and additional schemes now expanded.
• Selective licensing: Coverage extended to 15 wards with licences required from Nov 2025.
• Fees: Approx GBP 1,400 for a mandatory HMO licence.
• Article 4: Controls in certain central wards; planning team very active.
• Enforcement: Increasingly assertive, especially around overcrowding and illegal HMOs.

11. Haringey

• Additional licensing: Boroughwide additional licensing scheme covering smaller HMOs.
• Selective licensing: Some targeted selective licensing areas.
• Fees: In the typical London range (GBP 1,000-1,500 for 5 years).
• Article 4: Article 4 in some HMO areas.
• Enforcement: Medium-high; emphasises improving standards.

12. Barking and Dagenham

• Additional licensing: Borough runs additional licensing schemes; extended in recent years.
• Selective licensing: Boroughwide or very wide selective licensing from 6 April 2025.
• Fees: Two-part fee structure; overall cost roughly in the GBP 1,000-1,500 band per HMO.
• Article 4: Some controls; check planning maps.
• Enforcement: Seen as tough, particularly on illegal lets and poor conditions.

13. Waltham Forest

• Additional licensing: Scheme launched 2020 for 3+ person HMOs; further scheme approved from April 2025, including certain purpose-built flats.
• Selective licensing: New borough-wide selective licensing scheme started 1 May 2025.
• Fees: Similar to other inner/outer boroughs; typically GBP 1,000-1,300 per HMO.
• Article 4: Applies in some areas to restrict HMO expansion.
• Enforcement: Very active; Waltham Forest regularly features in "strict council" lists.

14. Brent

• Additional licensing: Boroughwide HMO additional licensing.
• Selective licensing: Existing schemes extended into more wards in spring 2026.
• Fees: In the London norm (~GBP 1,000-1,500 per HMO licence).
• Article 4: Article 4 in HMO-dense areas; planning conscious of over-concentration.
• Enforcement: Active; widely seen as "no-nonsense" on licensing.

15. Ealing

• Additional licensing: Additional HMO licensing across the borough or specific wards (Ealing has been an early adopter).
• Selective licensing: Selective licensing in some high-PRS wards.
• Fees: In line with outer-London averages (~GBP 900-1,200 for a 5-year HMO).
• Article 4: Some HMO Article 4 designations.
• Enforcement: Moderate-strong; schemes widely publicised.

16. Enfield

• Data gap: Not covered in detail in this research. Needs separate Perplexity prompt for Enfield-specific schemes, fees and Article 4 status.

17. Croydon

• Data gap: Not covered in detail in this research. Needs separate Perplexity prompt for Croydon-specific schemes, fees and enforcement stance.

Fees and processing times: key ranges

Fees:

• Inner London HMO licences: approx GBP 1,200-1,600 for a 5-year mandatory licence.
• Outer London: approx GBP 900-1,200.

Notable examples:

• Tower Hamlets: ~GBP 1,500 for 5-bed HMO.
• Camden: GBP 1,531 new HMO licence.
• Westminster: ~GBP 1,400.
• Lewisham: from GBP 500 up to GBP 1,250+ depending on size.
• Wandsworth: about GBP 1,450 for 5-person house share.

Processing times: Most London boroughs quote 4-12 weeks as typical, but in practice initial acknowledgement can be quick and full grant slower.

Most HMO-friendly vs most aggressive (investment lens)

More HMO-friendly (relatively)

"Friendly" here means: clear rules, decent yields, licensing manageable, not openly hostile to HMOs, even if schemes are widespread.

Brent, Waltham Forest, Haringey, Lewisham, parts of Ealing: Strong demand for sharer/studio stock. Boroughwide additional licensing does add cost, but investors know the rules and can price the fees and standards into their yields.

Camden, Islington (for professionals/students): Expensive licences but premium rents if you get location and quality right. Planning strict but transparent; the core investor risk is cost, not randomness.

These are not "easy" by any stretch, but if you want London HMOs as a long-term business, at least the regimes are well-established.

Most aggressive / toughest for investors

"Aggressive" here means: boroughwide or near-boroughwide licensing, high fees, and a clear appetite for enforcement.

Newham: Boroughwide additional + boroughwide selective licensing; essentially every rented property is licensable. Very strong enforcement reputation, high civil penalties.

Waltham Forest, Barking and Dagenham, Brent: Wide licensing coverage (additional and selective) and active enforcement teams.

Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Westminster, Southwark, Lambeth: New or expanding licensing schemes (2024-26), high fees, explicit focus on cracking down on non-compliant landlords.

If you invest here you can still make money, but you must treat licensing and planning as core deal risks and factor full licence costs and standards into your numbers from day one.

What London HMO forums get wrong

Myth 1: "Mandatory HMO licensing is all you need to worry about."

Reality: In many London boroughs, additional schemes mean every 3-4 person HMO needs a licence, and selective schemes mean even single-lets need one. Newham, Brent, Barking and Dagenham, Waltham Forest, Hackney and others are effectively licensing most of their PRS.

Myth 2: "My 4-bed with 4 tenants is under the threshold so I am fine."

Reality: That only holds where there is no additional licensing. In many London boroughs your 4-person sharer is a licensable HMO, and the council expects fees, fire doors and inspections.

Myth 3: "London councils will give me a warning first."

Reality: Several boroughs now lead with civil penalties and rent repayment orders instead of gentle warning letters, especially where schemes have been widely publicised.

Myth 4: "Licensing is just a tick-box form; standards are the same everywhere."

Reality: Minimum room size and amenity standards vary and some London boroughs go above national minimums; many set their own charts and amenity ratios in detailed PDFs.

How to use this on PropertyKiln

For your London HMO content:

Start each borough section with:

• "Is every 3-4 person HMO licensable here?"
• "Is selective licensing boroughwide or area-specific?"

Add a mini table per borough with:

• Schemes: mandatory / additional / selective.
• Licence types and fees (new vs renewal).
• Typical processing time.
• Enforcement stance (one word: "tough / medium / light").

And at the top of the London hub page, send every reader to:

• The GLA licensing map for postcode-level checks.

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