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What’s happening with selective licensing in Barnet?

Monday, October 20th, 2025 - Barnet Council

Private landlords, letting agents and tenants may understandably be confused about selective licensing in the London Borough of Barnet.

The council currently operate borough wide mandatory HMO and additional licensing schemes, but what is happening with selective licensing?

As property licensing specialists who have tracked every London property licensing scheme for over ten years, we have complied this important update.

2021 selective licensing consultation

From 5 August to 5 November 2021, Barnet Council consulted on a proposed selective licensing scheme covering nine council wards (read here).

In March 2022, the council published a summary of the results, revealing that only 40% of respondents supported a proposed selective licensing scheme covering all nine wards. The council decided to narrow the scheme to three wards – Burnt Oak, Colindale North and Colindale South. The council said they expected to make a scheme designation in October 2022 and launch the scheme in January 2023.

Suffice to say, no scheme designation was made in October 2022 and no selective licensing scheme started in January 2023. Instead, everything went quiet until…

2023 selective licensing consultation

From 22 February to 22 July 2023, Barnet Council consulted on a proposed second selective licensing scheme, albeit the first scheme had still not started (read here).

In December 2023, Barnet Cabinet Meeting approved a second selective licensing scheme covering another ten council wards – Childs Hill, Cricklewood, Edgware, Edgwarebury, Finchley Church End, Golders Green, Hendon, Mill Hill, West Finchley and West Hendon.

The Cabinet report acknowledged the first selective licensing scheme had still not started due to delays with licence application software and resourcing issues. The updated implementation timeline was for a selective licensing scheme designation to be made in early 2024 and the scheme to commence three months later.

This is where things become even more confused. The Cabinet phase two selective licensing report said the second scheme would not start until the phase one selective licensing scheme had properly bedded in, was adequately resourced and working effectively. Albeit that wording was in the main body of the report and not in the recommendations that were approved.

So, what happened?

Two selective licensing scheme approvals but still no scheme

Barnet Council made no selective licensing scheme designation in early 2024 and no selective licensing scheme started three months later.

It doesn’t help that Barnet Council’s website says the phase 1 scheme has been approved and was due to be signed in 2024 (extract from Barnet Council website below, 20 October 2025).

Almost, two years on from the second Cabinet meeting and still nothing has happened. Quite where we go from here is unclear.

There is still an approval in principle from early 2022 to implement the first selective licensing scheme covering Burnt Oak, Colindale North and Colindale South. That decision was based on a 2021 consultation, which itself was based on an evidence base covering 2015 to 2020.

In August 2025, London Property Licensing reached out to Barnet Council to seek an update. A member of the licensing team replied to say they were expecting an update in September 2025, but that deadline has been and gone.

Through online research, we have found a draft 2025 selective licensing scheme designation for the Barnet phase 2 scheme, albeit it contains a number of errors and hasn’t been signed or dated.

Richard Tacagni, MD, London Property Licensing commented:

“There is understandable confusion about what is happening with selective licensing in Barnet. As a seasoned licensing specialist, even I’m struggling to understand what the council are doing.

“Whether the council can still make a selective licensing scheme designation based on a decision in 2022, a consultation in 2021 and an evidence base from 2015 to 2020 is far from clear. That would ultimately be a question for the courts if there was a legal challenge.

“The best option for the council is probably to start the whole process again – compile a new evidence base covering 2020 to 2025 and reconsult. Alternatively, let landlords know the proposed scheme has been dropped.”

London Property Licensing will continue to monitor property licensing developments in Barnet and will share any further update in due course.

Our free guide containing more information about property licensing and HMO planning restrictions in Barnet is available here.