London Borough of Enfield

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

1. Mandatory HMO licence

In Enfield 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 been lifted.

The government excluded 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 makes the licensing scheme far more complicated.

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

2. Additional licence

In Enfield you need an additional licence if your property is is let as a House in Multiple Occupation that falls outside the remit of mandatory HMO licensing. It includes properties shared by three or more people who are not all related and share facilities.

The additional licensing scheme started on 1 September 2020, continues for five years and applies borough wide. You can view a copy of the public notice in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.

Enfield Council have excluded ‘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.

You can read our free guide to additional licensing to find out more (here).

3. Selective licence

In Enfield you need a selective licence if your property (house or flat) is let out to a single household or two individual sharers and is in the council wards of Bowes, Chase, Edmonton Green, Enfield Highway, Enfield Lock, Haselbury, Jubilee, Lower Edmonton, Palmers Green, Ponders End, Southbury, Southgate Green, Turkey Street or Upper Edmonton.

The selective licensing scheme started on 1 September 2021 and continues for five years. You can view a copy of the public notice in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.

This adds another layer of complexity as most landlords aren’t familiar with the ward boundaries. You can use a postcode search facility on the council’s website to check if your property is within the selective licensing area.

You can read our free guide to selective licensing to find out more (here).