London Borough of Ealing

If you need help understanding the property licensing rules in Ealing, 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 four licensing schemes operating in Ealing. We will help you choose the right licence for your property.

1. Mandatory HMO licence

You will 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

An additional licensing scheme started on 1 April 2022 and continues for five years.

It applies to most HMOs in the London Borough of Ealing. You will need an additional licence if the property is occupied by three or more people who are not all related and share (or lack) a toilet, personal washing facilities or cooking facilities.

The House in Multiple Occupation definition is not straightforward and you will need to study it carefully or seek advice. For example, Ealing Council have included ‘section 257 HMOs’ within their new additional 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.

Fortunately, Ealing Council have restricted the licensing of section 257 HMOs to buildings containing three or more flats where all the flats are privately rented and the building and all of the flats within it are in the same ownership or control, or considered by the council to be effectively under the same control.

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

3. Selective Licence – designation 1

A selective licensing scheme started on 1 April 2022 and continues for five years.

You will need a selective licence if your property (house or flat) is let out to a single household or two unrelated sharers, and is in the council wards of East Acton, Southall Broadway and Southall Green based on the pre May 2022 ward boundaries. Selective licences are also needed for any HMOs in these areas that are do not fall within the mandatory HMO or additional licensing schemes.

4. Selective Licence – designation 2

A second selective licensing scheme came into force on 3 January 2023 and continues for five years.

You will need a selective licence if your property (house or flat) is let out to a single household or two unrelated sharers, and is in the council wards of Acton Central, Dormers Wells, Greenford Broadway, Greenford Green, Hanger Hill, Hobbayne, Lady Margaret, North Greenford, Northolt Mandeville, Northolt West End, Perivale and South Acton based on the pre May 2022 ward boundaries. Selective licences are also needed for HMOs in these areas that are do not fall within the mandatory HMO or additional licensing schemes.

This adds another layer of complexity as most landlords won’t be familiar with the ward boundaries and neither will tenants or agents. You can use the postcode search facility on the council’s website to check if your property in within either selective licensing scheme.

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

How much does a licence cost?

It depends on the type of licence you are applying for.

Mandatory HMO licence

Ealing Council charge a fee of £1,300 per property plus an additional £50 for each habitable room (i.e. bedroom or living room). So the fee is £1,550 for a shared house with five single person lettings and no shared living room.

Additional licence

Ealing Council charge £1,100 per property, plus £50 per habitable room.

Selective licence

Ealing Council charge £750 per property (there is a discount for selective licensing block or multi-flat licences).

There is a £75 discount if the licence holder or designated manager belongs to an approved accreditation scheme which we think this is a good idea.

The fees we have listed were correct as of January 2024 but could be subject to change in the future. You can view the fees in full on the council’s website.

How do I apply for a licence?

Ealing Council have an online licence application and payment system. You can apply for a mandatory HMO, additional or selective licence by visiting the council’s website.

If you need assistance with your licence application, you can find companies offering a licence application handling service in our Landlord Suppliers Directory (here). Whilst we do handle some applications, we have limited capacity and specialise in more complex cases where we provide our clients with expert advice and assistance.

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, Ealing Council has adopted HMO standards that you can view on the council’s website. The standards apply to Houses in Multiple Occupation that are licensed under the mandatory HMO or additional licensing schemes.

They cover a range of issues such as kitchen, bathroom and toilet facilities, room sizes, fire precautions, heating, lighting and ventilation.

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 November 2022, Ealing Council told us they had licensed 1,511 properties under the mandatory HMO licensing scheme, 189 under the additional licensing scheme and 3,427 under the selective licensing scheme, so 5,127 in total.

Ealing Council keeps a public register of all licensed properties which can be searched online using an address or postcode search facility, available here.

Are there lots of unlicensed properties still out there?

In November 2022, Ealing Council told us they think there could be 8,360 licensable HMOs under the mandatory HMO and additional licensing schemes and 32,713 licensable properties under the two selective licensing schemes.

This suggests there could be many licensable properties where no licence application has yet been submitted.

If you are the landlord of a licensable but unlicensed property, we would strongly recommend you apply now to minimise the compliance risk.

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 notice 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 835 accredited landlords in Ealing, which was the highest out of all London boroughs.

January 2018: 1,116 accredited landlords
January 2019: 1,218 accredited landlords
January 2020: 1,325 accredited landlords
January 2021: 1,425 accredited landlords
January 2022: 1,885 accredited landlords

By January 2023, there were 2,244 accredited landlords, which is the second highest when compared to all 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?

Ealing Council consulted on proposals for new additional and selective licensing schemes from 10 May to 16 August 2021. A decision to implement new additional and selective licensing schemes was made at the Cabinet Meeting on 8 December 2021 (read here – see agenda item 9).

On 1 April 2022, a new borough wide additional licensing scheme and a selective licensing scheme covering three wards came into force.

Following government approval, a second selective licensing scheme covering an additional twelve wards came into force on 3 January 2023.

There is clearly a lot happening in Ealing so we will monitor the situation and keep you posted. 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 small HMOs, the rules are a bit more complicated. HMOs occupied and shared by between three and six people fall into planning use class C4 whereas single-family properties fall into planning use class C3.

In November 2022, Ealing Council told us there is currently no HMO Article 4 Direction in force.

This means that you do not need planning permission for a change of use from a single-family property (use class C3) to a small HMO shared by three to six unrelated residents (use class C4), although the situation could change in the future.

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 before you start a new HMO development. You can find more information about Article 4 Directions on the council’s website.

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.