London Borough of Havering

If you need help understanding the property licensing rules in Havering 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 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 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 three property licensing schemes operating in Havering. We will help you choose the right licence for your property.

1. Mandatory HMO licence

In Havering 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.  

The government have 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 does make the licensing scheme more complicated.

Read our free guide to mandatory HMO licensing to find out more (here). 

2. Additional licence

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

The additional licensing scheme started on 18 March 2026, continues for five years and applies borough wide. You can view the public notice in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.

The council have included ‘section 257 HMOs: certain converted blocks of flats’ in the 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 only require an additional licence if all accommodation units are privately rented and the building and accommodation units are in the same ownership.

Read our free guide to additional licensing to find out more (here).

3. Selective licence

In Havering you need a selective licence if your property is let to a single household or two unrelated sharers.

The selective licensing scheme started on 18 March 2026, continues for five years and applies to the council wards of Beam Park, Harold Wood, Rainham and Wennington, Rush Green and Crowlands, Squirrels Heath, St Albans and St Edwards. You can view the public notice in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.

You can use the postcode checker on the council’s website to check which ward your property is in. 

Read our free guide to selective licensing to find out more (here).

How much does a licence cost?

Mandatory HMO licence

Havering Council charge a mandatory HMO licence application fee of £1,329 for an HMO with up to five letting. The fee increases to up £2,130 if there are 20 or more lettings. There is no discount for accredited landlords. The fee is paid in two instalments.

Additional licence

Havering Council charge an additional licence application fee of £1,400 per property. The discount for accredited landlords is £100 and the discount for properties with an EPC rating of C of above is £75. The fee is paid in two instalments.  

Selective licence

Havering Council charge a selective licence application fee of £950 per property. The discount for accredited landlords is £100 and the discount for properties with an EPC rating of C of above is £75. The fee is paid in two instalments.  

The fees were correct as of March 2026 and can be viewed on the council’s website.

How do I apply for a licence?

Havering Council have an online property licence application system. You can apply by visiting the council’s website and clicking on the ‘Apply for a licence’ button.

Havering Council started to accept additional and selective licence applications under the new schemes from 25 January 2026.

If you need assistance with your licence application, you can find 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?

Havering Council’s HMO guidance can be viewed on the council’s website.

The guidance covers a range of issues such as kitchen, bathroom and toilet facilities, fire precautions, heating, lighting, ventilation and room sizes.

The government have introduced absolute minimum bedroom sizes that apply to all licensed HMOs:

  • 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 minimum sizes apply throughout England to HMOs licensed under a mandatory HMO or additional licensing scheme.

How many properties has the Council licensed?

In January 2025, Havering Council’s public register listed 255 mandatory HMO licences, 69 additional licences and 3,206 selective licences.

Havering Council keeps a public register of licensed properties which you can view on the council’s website.

Are there lots of unlicensed properties still out there?

In February 2026, Havering Council told us they estimate 10,474 properties will need to be licensed under their additional and selective landlord licensing schemes.

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 283 accredited landlords in Havering, which was the 3rd lowest out of all London boroughs.

January 2018: 499 accredited landlords
January 2019: 566 accredited landlords
January 2020: 595 accredited landlords
January 2021: 640 accredited landlords
January 2022: 738 accredited landlords
January 2023: 995 accredited landlords
January 2024: 1,084 accredited landlords
January 2025: 1,149 accredited landlords

By January 2025 there were 1,234 accredited landlords, which is below 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?

Havering Council recently consulted on plans to renew their additional licensing scheme and extend the scheme borough wide. They also consulted on plans to renew their selective licensing scheme and extend it to seven council wards. The consultation took place from 14 April to 6 July 2025. You can find out more information by visiting the council’s website.

On 10 December 2025 new additional and selective licensing schemes were approved at the Cabinet meeting (read here). The new licensing schemes came into force on 18 March 2026.

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Do I need planning permission for my HMO?

You 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 also need planning permission if you a splitting up a property into smaller self-contained units of accommodation. 

For smaller HMOs, the rules are more complicated. HMOs occupied by up to six people fall into planning use class C4 whereas single-family properties fall into planning use class C3.

On 13 July 2015, Havering Council made two Article 4 Directions that remove the permitted development rights to change a property from use class C3 to use class C4 without planning permission. We have published a short guide to HMO Article 4 Directions that you can read here.

To make matters more complicated, different rules apply in different parts of the borough.

HMO Article 4 Direction No. 1
This Article 4 Direction applies in the council wards of Brooklands, Romford Town, Heaton and Gooshays. You can view the Article 4 Direction in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.  

In these wards, planning permission is required to change the use from a single-family property (C3) to an HMO with up to six occupants (class C4). So even letting your property to three people who are not all related could require planning permission.

HMO Article 4 Direction No. 2
This Article 4 Direction applies to the whole of the borough, excluding the council wards of Brooklands, Romford Town, Heaton and Gooshays. You can view the Article 4 Direction in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.  

In these wards, planning permission is required to change a self-contained flat, a terraced house or a semi-detached house from a single-family property (C3) to an HMO with up to six occupants (class C4). The only difference is that this Article 4 Direction does not apply to detached houses, where permitted development from use class C3 to C4 will remain.

When did the Article 4 Directions come into force?
Havering Council’s HMO Article 4 Directions came into force on 13 July 2016. The changes are not retrospective, so any properties changed from a single-family property (class C3) to an HMO with up to six occupants (class C4) before that date are not affected.

More information about Article 4 Directions is available on the council’s website.

This is 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 if you need advice on how this impacts on your property portfolio.

Can you help me find the goods and services I need?

We understand the challenges of being a private landlord and have created a Landlord Suppliers Directory to help you find 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, need a fire risk assessment or an EPC, 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 representation at First-tier Tribunal appeals, we help to ensure your property business remains compliant. If you need assistance, please drop us a line.

How do I find out more?

You can contact the council at: 

Private Sector Housing Team
Havering Council
Town Hall
Main Road
Romford
RM1 3DR

Email: landlordlicensing@havering.gov.uk
Tel: 01708 432006
Website: www.havering.gov.uk

Latest News

Consultations

There are currently no licensing consultations we are aware of in the London Borough of Havering

Schemes

Events

Opinion

At a Glance

Licence Overview

In Havering, the mandatory HMO licensing scheme applies borough wide and new additional and selective licensing schemes came into force on 18 March 2026 (more information).

More Information

Contacting the Council

Tel: 01708 432006
Email: landlordlicensing@havering.gov.uk
Weblink: Havering property licensing