London Borough of Newham

If you need help understanding the property licensing rules in Newham you have come to the right place! We are experts in housing regulation and have produced this free guide to help you understand the council’s property licensing schemes.

If you find that you need a licence for your rented property our support doesn’t end there. Our Landlord Suppliers Directory (view here) lists companies that offer a licence application handling service. You can also find companies offering a wide range of other goods and services to help you manage your property portfolio and achieve compliance.

Licensing Requirements

Do I need a licence to rent out my property?

There are currently three licensing schemes operating in Newham. We will help you choose the right licence for your property.

1. Mandatory HMO licence

You need a mandatory HMO licence if your property meets the standard test, self-contained flat test or converted building test HMO definition in section 254 of the Housing Act 2004 and is occupied by five or more people.

But what are these tests and what does this mean in practice? It means you need a licence for any house or flat that is occupied by five or more people who are not all related and live in the property as their main home. For example, it includes:

Shared houses and flats occupied by students and young professionals;
Properties converted into bedsits with some shared facilities; and
Properties converted into a mixture of self-contained and non self-contained accommodation.

Prior to 1 October 2018, the mandatory HMO licensing scheme only applied to properties that were three or more storeys in height, but that restriction has now been lifted.

The government have decided to exclude purpose built self-contained flats within a block comprising three or more self-contained flats from the mandatory HMO licensing scheme. While this will be good news for some landlords, it does make the licensing scheme far more complicated.

To find out more, you can read our free guide to mandatory HMO licensing (here).

2. Additional licence

A replacement additional licensing scheme came into force on 1 January 2023 and continues for five years.

The scheme applies borough wide except for the council wards of Royal Victoria and Stratford Olympic Park. You can view a copy of the licensing scheme public notice in the “At a Glance’ box on the top right of this webpage.

Within the designated area, you need an additional licence if your property is let as a House in Multiple Occupation that is not already covered by the mandatory HMO licensing scheme. Newham Council seem to have excluded ‘section 257 HMOs’ from the licensing scheme. These are properties that:

a) have been converted into self-contained flats; and
b) less than two thirds of the flats are owner occupied and
c) the conversion did not comply with the relevant Building Regulations in force at that time and still does not comply.

To find out more, you can read our free guide to additional licensing (here).

3. Selective Licence

A replacement selective licensing scheme came into force on 1 June 2023 and continues for five years.

Within the designated area, you will need a selective licence if your property (house or flat) is let out to a single household or two unrelated sharers.

Once you have obtained a selective licence, you cannot let the property as an HMO as that requires a different type of licence, and also planning permission for change of use.

To find out more, you can read our free guide to selective licensing (here).

How much does a licence cost?

In Newham, it depends on the type of licence you are applying for.

Mandatory HMO licence

The application fee is £1,400 for properties containing up to five lettings. The more lettings you have, the more you pay.

Additional licence

The application fee is £1,250 per property.

Selective licence

The application fee is £750 per property.

There are some discounts available, including for accredited landlords and properties with an EPC rating of ‘C’ or above.

These fees are correct as of April 2024 and may be subject to change. The fees are published on the council’s website.

How do I apply for a licence?

Newham Council have an online application system that can be accessed via the council’s website.

We offer a licence application handling service in Newham and you can find further information here. Simply complete the online enquiry form to get the process underway.

You can find other companies offering a licence application handling service in our Landlord Suppliers Directory (here).

It is important to remember that submitting a licence application is only the start of the licence approval process. To help landlords understand what happens next, we have published a free guide here.

Are there any standards I need to comply with?

Yes, Newham Council have adopted standards for licensed HMOs, published in Appendix 2 of their licensing guide, available on the council’s website. Once you click on the link, you can download the guide from the ‘Useful links’ box on the right of the Newham web-page.

The standards cover a range of issues such as kitchen, bathroom and toilet facilities, fire precautions, heating, lighting and ventilation.

These standards only apply to HMOs licenced under the mandatory HMO and additional licensing schemes. They don’t apply to single family properties licensed under the selective licensing scheme.

It is important to note that new absolute minimum bedroom sizes for licensed HMOs have been introduced for HMO licence applications approved on or after 1 October 2018:

4.64m2 for a child under 10 years old
6.51m2 for one person over 10 years old
10.22m2 for two people over 10 years old

The council can still ask for larger minimum sizes. These new minimum sizes apply throughout England to HMOs licensed under a mandatory HMO or additional licensing scheme.

How many properties has the Council licensed?

In May 2019, Newham Council told us they had licensed 35,341 properties:

646 mandatory HMO licences;
2,609 additional licences; and
32,086 selective licences.

Newham Council keeps a public register of all licensed properties which is regularly updated and can be viewed online.

Are there lots of unlicensed properties still out there?

Whilst Newham Council have licensed over 35,000 properties, it seems there could still be some licensable but unlicensed properties in the borough. In May 2019, the council told us they think there could be around 40,000 private rented properties that need licensing.

Newham Council operate a robust enforcement policy and so if your property is unlicensed or has the wrong type of licence for the current occupancy arrangements, it is important to get this sorted out before council officers coming knocking on your door. For expert advice and assistance, please contact us.

What happens if I don’t get a licence?

Ignore the law and you could pay a heavy price. You risk being prosecuted by the council and if found guilty you could get a criminal record, be fined an unlimited amount and ordered to pay court costs and a victim surcharge.

Alternatively, the council can issue you with a civil penalty of up to £30,000 for not having the correct licence without any warning being given, so this is really serious stuff.

You could also be subject to a Rent Repayment Order and may have to repay up to 12 months rental income.

Whilst the property is unlicensed, you can’t use a Notice of Seeking Possession under Section 21 Housing Act 1988 to evict your tenants.

And following a successful prosecution, you would probably fail a fit and proper person assessment, making it very difficult for you to obtain a property licence in the future.

Don’t put your livelihood and reputation at risk. Make sure you comply with the law.

Does the Council take much housing enforcement action?

In London, most boroughs publish information about housing prosecutions and civil financial penalties on the Mayor of London’s ‘Rogue landlord and agent checker’. You can search the database by entering a property address, landlord / agent name or by selecting the relevant borough, available here.

How many accredited landlords are there?

There are landlord accreditation schemes operated by the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) and other organisations.

Whilst we don’t have any figures for the NRLA scheme, we have got information about the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme that is supported by all the London Boroughs. In January 2016, they told us there were 598 accredited landlords in Newham, which was the 11th highest out of all London boroughs.

January 2018: 894 accredited landlords
January 2019: 978 accredited landlords
January 2020: 1,105 accredited landlords
January 2021: 1,304 accredited landlords
January 2022: 1,580 accredited landlords
January 2023: 1,860 accredited landlords

By January 2024, there were 2,294 accredited landlords, which is fourth highest when compared to all the London boroughs. To find out more about becoming accredited, you can visit the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme website here.

In addition to training and development, accredited landlords are entitled to various benefits, including discounted licensing fees in some boroughs. If you are not already a member, we would encourage you to think about joining!

Is the Council planning to introduce any new licensing schemes?

Newham Council’s additional and selective licensing schemes remain in force until 2027 / 2028.

We will continue to monitor any new developments and for all the latest news you can sign up to our free newsletter.

Do I need planning permission for my HMO?

You will need planning permission if you are changing your property from a single-family property to a house in multiple occupation (HMO) occupied by more than six people. HMOs occupied by more than six people fall within ‘sui-generis’ use for which planning permission is required. You will also need planning permission if you a splitting up a property into smaller self-contained units of accommodation.

For smaller HMOs, the rules are more complicated. HMOs occupied by up to six people fall into planning use class C4 whereas single-family properties fall into planning use class C3.

On 31 July 2012, Newham Council made an Article 4 Direction that removes the permitted development rights to change a property from a single-family house (use class C3) to an HMO occupied by up to six people (use class C4) without planning permission.

The Article 4 Direction applies borough-wide and came into force on 31 July 2013. From that date, even letting your property to three people who are not all related could require planning permission.

You can download a copy of the Article 4 Direction from the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this webpage.

We have published some further guidance about HMO Article 4 Directions, avaialble here.

To find out more information, you can visit the planning page on the council’s website.

Remember that this is only intended as general advice and no liability can be accepted for any reliance upon information provided. We would strongly encourage you to contact the Council’s Planning Department or seek independent legal advice.

Can you help me find the goods and services I need?

We certainly can. We understand the challenges of being a private landlord and so we have developed a Landlord Suppliers Directory to provide you with access to the goods and services you need. The Directory concentrates on businesses that operate in the London area.

Whether you a looking for a letting agent, want a property inventory for a new tenancy or fire risk assessment, we have got it covered – and far more besides!

As the leading experts in property licensing, we also offer a range of services ourselves. From handling the licence application process to advice on new HMO developments, we can help to ensure your property business remains compliant. If you need assistance, please drop us a line and see if we can help!

New suppliers are regularly being added and we would encourage you to take a look. Some of our featured listings also contain YouTube videos, helping you to find out more about the business.