You do not need a licence if you rent your property to a single family as Islington Council do not operate a selective licensing scheme. However, if you rent out a flat in a converted building, you should check the additional licensing scheme below as some buildings containing flats do need to be licensed.
If you rent out your property as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) the answer is a bit more complicated. Islington Council have an additional licensing scheme that started on 1 September 2015, plus the mandatory HMO licensing scheme that applies throughout England.
To help you decide if you need a licence we’ve outlined the two HMO licensing schemes below:
1. Mandatory HMO licensing
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. Additional licensing
The additional licensing scheme started on 1 September 2015 and runs for five years until 31 August 2020, unless the council chose to implement a replacement scheme.
It applies to all HMOs in Caledonian Road and Holloway Road i.e. houses or flats occupied by three or more people who are not all members of the same household or family.
The council have also included ‘section 257 HMOs’ in the scheme. These are properties that:
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have been converted into self-contained flats; and
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less than two thirds of the flats are owner occupied; and
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the conversion did not comply with the relevant Building Regulations in force at that time and still does not comply.
This is a complex area of law and you may need further advice on whether your property is a 'section 257 HMO'. You can view a copy of the scheme designation in the ‘More Information’ box of the right hand side of this page.
The council have said that late or incomplete applications that indicate poor property management practices will, at best, only secure a one-year licence and could result in prosecution. It is important that you act now if this scheme applies to you.