Islington Council launches new landlord licensing consultation to enhance protections for private renters

Wednesday, January 15th, 2025 - Islington Council

Islington Council has launched a public consultation to gather views on renewing and expanding its property licensing schemes.

These schemes aim to ensure private renters across the borough have safe, high-quality housing and to hold landlords accountable for maintaining their properties. The consultation will focus on two key licensing schemes. 

Renewing the borough-wide additional licensing scheme that ends in February 2026

This scheme, which applies to multi-occupied houses or flats shared by three or four people, multi-occupied flats in purpose build blocks of flats where the block comprises three or more flats and some so called ‘section 257 HMOs’, is set to expire in February 2026. 

Expanding the selective licensing scheme

The current selective licensing scheme extends licensing to all privately rented properties in the Finsbury Park, Hillrise, and Tollington council ward. It includes private rented homes occupied by a single family or two unrelated sharers. 

The council is proposing to extend the selective licensing scheme to a further nine additional wards: Barnsbury, Caledonian, Tufnell Park, Mildmay, Highbury, Junction, Laycock, Canonbury and Clerkenwell. 

With more than a third of Islington homes being privately rented, the council say it is more important than ever to ensure renters have good-quality housing. Under the existing schemes, landlords who fail to register or meet licence conditions can face penalties, including fines or criminal convictions.

This ensures a fair environment for responsible landlords while tackling issues caused by rogue landlords who neglect maintenance or exploit tenants. 

Cllr John Woolf, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Homes and Neighbourhoods, said:

“In Islington, everyone deserves a safe, decent, and genuinely affordable home. We are committed to doing everything we can to protect private renters and ensure landlords provide good-quality accommodation. 

“The success of our current licensing schemes has shown that they can make a real difference. Now, we need your input to shape the future of these schemes.

“We encourage residents, landlords, and stakeholders to take part in this consultation and help us create a fairer, safer rental market for our community.” 

The consultation continues until midnight on Sunday 13 April and the council want input from residents, private renters, landlords, and other stakeholders. You can find out more information and take part in the consultation on the council’s website.

Our free guide containing more information about property licensing and HMO planning restriction in Islington is available here.

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