London Borough of Haringey

If you need help understanding the property licensing rules in Haringey 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 licensing schemes operating in Haringey. 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

The current additional HMO licensing scheme came into force on 27 May 2019 and ends on 26 May 2024. Haringey Council recently approved a replacement scheme which will start on 17 June 2024.

It applies to all HMOs throughout the borough and 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 included all ‘section 257 HMOs: certain converted blocks of flats’ in the 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.

Under the previous additional licensing scheme, the council had applied restrictions to the licensing of section 257 HMOs, but those restrictions have now been lifted and so all 257 HMOs will need to be licensed under this scheme.

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

3. Selective licence

From 17 November 2022, 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 Bounds Green, Bruce Castle, Harringay, Hermitage & Gardens, Noel Park, Northumberland Park, Seven Sisters, South Tottenham, St Ann’s, Tottenham Central, Tottenham Hale, West Green, White Hart Lane and Woodside.

You can view a copy of the scheme designation in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.

This adds another layer of complexity as most landlords won’t be familiar with the ward boundaries and neither will tenants or agents. To find out if your property is within the selective licensing area, you can use a postcode search facility on the council’s website to check if your property is within the scheme boundary.

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

How much does a licence cost?

The application fee depends on the type of licence.

Mandatory HMO and additional licence

Haringey Council charge a fixed fee of £1,210 per property which is split into two instalments – £550 payable when you apply and a further £660 when the licence is ready to be approved.

If the property has more than 10 units of accommodation, the council charge an extra £50 for each unit in excess of ten.

There is a £50 discount for members of the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme or other approved scheme.

On the council’s website, it also says they may reduce the length of your licence in certain circumstances. For example, if you fall behind on Council Tax payments, they may reduce the licence by up to two years.

Selective licence

Haringey Council charge a fixed fee of £600 per property which is split into two instalments – £350 payable when you apply and a further £250 when the licence is ready to be approved.

There is a £50 discount for members of the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme or other approved scheme. There is also a £50 discount for properties with an EPC A, B or C rating.

The fees we have listed were published on the council’s website in April 2024 but could be subject to change in the future. Mandatory HMO and additional licensing fees can be viewed here and selective licensing fees can be viewed here.

How do I apply for a licence?

Haringey Council has an online licence application and payment system for all mandatory HMO, additional and selective licence applications. You can apply by visiting the council’s website.

We offer a licence application handling service in Haringey and you can find further information here. Simply complete the online enquiry form to get the process underway.

You can find other companies offering a licence application handling service in our Landlord Suppliers Directory (here).

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, Haringey Council’s HMO standards can be downloaded from the council’s website.

The standards cover a range of issues such as kitchen, bathroom and toilet facilities, fire precautions, heating, lighting, ventilation and room sizes. They apply to all licensed HMOs.

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 June 2022, Haringey Council told us they had licensed 1,006 HMOs under the mandatory HMO licensing scheme and 1,641 HMOs under the additional licensing scheme.

Haringey Council keeps a public register of licensed properties that is published on the council’s website and can be search by postcode or address. If you want to view a full copy of the register you will need to contact the council direct.

Are there lots of unlicensed properties still out there?

In May 2019, the council told us there are about 3,500 properties that need licensing under the mandatory HMO licensing scheme and 6,500 properties that need licensing under their additional licensing scheme.

Haringey Council expect to license a further 19,442 properties under their selective licensing scheme that started on 17 November 2022.

This suggests there could be many licensable but unlicensed properties in the borough. If you are one of the landlords who have not yet applied, we would recommend you take action today to minimise the risk of non-compliance.

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 641 accredited landlords in Haringey, which was the sixth highest out of all London boroughs.

January 2018: 894 accredited landlords
January 2019: 985 accredited landlords
January 2020: 1,099 accredited landlords
January 2021: 1,177 accredited landlords
January 2022: 1,385 accredited landlords
January 2023: 1,499 accredited landlords

By January 2024 there were 1,660 accredited landlords which is 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?

Haringey Council consulted on plans for a replacement additional licensing scheme from 27 November 2023 to 12 February 2024. You can find more information on the council’s website.

On 12 March 2024 a new additional licensing scheme was approved at the council’s Cabinet meeting (read here – agenda item 118) and the new scheme comes into force on 17 June 2024.

There’s a lot happening in Haringey so we will monitor the situation closely. 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.

On 30 November 2012, Haringey 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.

We understand that the HMO Article 4 Direction came into force on 30 November 2013 and applies to the old council wards of Bounds Green, Bruce Grove, Harringay, Northumberland Park, Noel Park, St Ann’s, Seven Sisters, Tottenham Green, Tottenham Hale, West Green, White Hart Lane and Woodside. From that date, letting your property to three or more people who are not all related is likely to require planning permission. You can find out more information on the council’s website.

We have also published some general advice on HMO Article 4 Directions here.

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.

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.