Yes, almost all private rented properties in Croydon need to be licensed. There are very few exemptions.
You will need a licence if you rent your property to a single family or individual as Croydon Council have implemented a selective licensing scheme that came into force on 1 October 2015 and lasts for five years until 30 September 2020. There are very few exemptions.
If you rent your property as a House in Multiple Occupation, the answer is slightly more complicated. Whilst Croydon Council’s additional licensing schemes have ended, some HMOs will need a licence under the selective licensing scheme and some are covered under the mandatory HMO licensing scheme that applies across England.
If you think you may need a licence, you now need to decide which one. We will try to 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:
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Shared houses and flats occupied by students and young professionals;
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Properties converted into bedsits with some shared facilities; and
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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. Selective Licence
You will need a selective licence if your property (house or flat) is let out to a single person, couple or single household anywhere in the borough. Selective licences are also needed for HMOs that are not already licensed under the mandatory HMO licensing scheme.
3. Additional licence
Whilst Croydon’s additional licensing schemes have ended, we have mentioned the old schemes below.
The 2010 Designation
This additional licensing scheme ran for five years from 24 August 2010 until 23 August 2015. It applied to all properties that were let out as HMOs and were not already covered by the mandatory HMO licensing scheme.
It applied in the council wards of Addiscombe, Ashburton, Bensham Manor, Broad Green, Coulston East, Coulston West, Croham, Fairfield, Heathfield, Kenley, Norbury, Purley, Sanderstead, Selhurst, South Norwood, Thornton Heath, Upper Norwood, Waddon, West Thornton and Woodside wards. In practice it covered most of the borough.
The 2014 Designation
On 1 August 2014, Croydon Council introduced another additional licensing scheme covering all HMOs in the borough. The scheme designation said it was due to run until 30 June 2019 although the council have told us the document was wrong. They say that the scheme was only ever intended to extend the existing additional licensing scheme borough wide for the remainder of the original licensing period i.e. until 23 August 2015. So it only lasted for just over a year.
Remember that if you do manage an HMO, it will still need a licence under the mandatory HMO or selective licensing scheme even though the additional licensing schemes have ended.