London Borough of Waltham Forest

If you need help understanding the property licensing rules in Waltham Forest 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 property licensing schemes operating in Waltham Forest. 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 2020 and remains in force until 31 March 2025.

It applies to all HMOs in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, so that includes all properties shared by three or more people who are not all related and share facilities. You can view a copy of the scheme designation in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.

The council have simplified things slightly by excluding ‘section 257 HMOs: certain converted blocks of flats’ from the scheme. These are properties that:

have been converted into self-contained flats; and
less than two thirds of the flats are owner occupied; and
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 started on 1 May 2020 and remains in force until 30 April 2025.

The scheme applies borough wide except for properties in the Hatch Lame and Endlebury wards. You can view a copy of the scheme designation in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.

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

To check which ward your property is in, you can use the postcode search facility on the council’s website.

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

How much does a licence cost?

At Waltham Forest, it depends on the type of licence you are applying for.

Mandatory HMO licence

The standard fee is £1,500 for an HMO with up to eight units. Higher fee bands apply to larger properties.

Additional licence

The standard fee is £1,000 per property.

A lower fee of £750 applies to properties with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or above. Other discounts are available for multiple HMOs in the same building.

Selective licence

The standard fee is £700 per property.

A lower fee of £450 applies to properties with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or above. Other discounts are available for multiple applications in the same building.

The fees are correct as of April 2024 but could be subject to change in the future. You can view the latest fees on the council’s website.

How do I apply for a licence?

Waltham Forest Council have an online application and payment system for their mandatory HMO, additional and selective licensing schemes. The application system can be accessed via 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, Waltham Forest Council have published local HMO standards and you can view a copy on the council’s website.

The Waltham Forest HMO standards relate to properties licensed under the mandatory HMO or additional licensing scheme and cover a range of issues such as kitchen, bathroom and toilet facilities, 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 December 2022, there were 373 mandatory HMO licences, 525 additional licences and 21,099 selective licences listed in the public register.

The council keeps a public register of all licensed properties that can be viewed on the council’s website.

Are there lots of unlicensed properties still out there?

In May 2019, Waltham Forest Council told us they think there were about 6,000 properties covered by the mandatory HMO licensing scheme and a further 26,886 properties covered by selective licensing.

Whilst most singe family properties have been licensed, it seems the number of licensed HMOs is significantly below expectations.

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 615 accredited landlords in Waltham Forest, which was in the top third of all London boroughs.

January 2018: 757 accredited landlords
January 2019: 780 accredited landlords
January 2020: 915 accredited landlords
January 2021: 1,016 accredited landlords
January 2022: 1,098 accredited landlords
January 2023: 1,426 accredited landlords

By January 2024 there were 1,584 accredited landlords, which is slightly above average 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?

Waltham Forest Council consulted on plans to renew their additional and selective licensing schemes from 15 December 2023 to 10 March 2024. You can find more information on the council’s website.

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 16 September 2013, Waltham Forest Council made an HMO 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 16 September 2014. So 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 confirmation notice from the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.

More information about the HMO Article 4 Direction can be found on 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.