Havering Additional and Selective Licensing Schemes start on 18 March 2026

Wednesday, March 18th, 2026 - Havering Council

Date: Wednesday 18 March 2026

About: Additional and selective licensing schemes come into force in the London Borough of Havering on 18 March 2026 and will continue for five years. 

Additional licensing

Havering Council’s new additional licensing scheme will apply borough wide and extend licensing to most houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) that fall outside the remit of mandatory HMO licensing. This will include shared houses, shared flats and bedsit HMOs occupied by three or four people.

The council have decided to include section 257 HMOs in the additional licensing 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.

Section 257 HMOs will only require an additional licence if all accommodation units are privately rented and the building and accommodation units are in the same ownership.

Selective licensing

Havering Council’s selective licensing scheme will extend licensing to all private rented accommodation occupied by a single household or two unrelated sharers in seven council wards.

The seven council wards covered by the new selective licensing designation are:

• Beam Park 
• Harold Wood
• Rainham and Wennington
• Rush Green and Crowlands
• Squirrels Heath
• St Albans
• St Edwards. 

You can use a search facility on the council’s website to check which ward your property is in.

Mandatory HMO licensing 

Most Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) occupied by five or more people already require licensing under the mandatory HMO licensing scheme that extends borough wide. This existing scheme operates across England.   

How can I apply for a licence?

Havering Council started to accept additional and selective licence applications on 25 January 2026. You can find out more information on the council’s website.

The direct link to apply for an additional or selective licence is here.

To accompany your licence application, the council have told us you must supply the following documents:

• Gas Safety Certificate (if applicable),
• Energy Performance Certificate
• Electrical Installation Condition Report, and
• Floorplan

How much will the licence application cost?

The selective licence application fee is £950 per property, payable in two instalments (Part A £570, Part B £380).

There are some fee discounts for selective licence applications:

• Accreditation discount – a discount of £100 which is deducted from the Part B fee.

• Energy efficiency discount – a discount of £75 for properties with an EPC Band C or above rating which is deducted from the Part B fee.

• Multiple dwelling discount – for multiple applications in the same building in the same ownership. The discount is £100 per application.

The full schedule of fees can be viewed on the council’s website. 

Looking for more information?

You can contact Havering Council’s property licensing team by email propertylicensing@havering.gov.uk or by calling 01708 432006 or 01708 432777.

Risks of non-compliance

Landlords and letting / managing agents that fail to comply with the new scheme risk prosecution in the Magistrates Court or a civil financial penalty of up to £30,000 per property. Other sanctions include Rent Repayment Orders, inability to issue a section 21 notice and an entry in the Mayor of London’s Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker. You can design out those risks by submitting your licence application before the scheme starts on 18 March 2026. 

London Property Licensing has published a free guide with more information about property licensing and HMO planning rules in Havering, available here.