London Borough of Newham

If you need help understanding the property licensing rules in Newham 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 Newham. We will help you choose the right licence for your property.

1. Mandatory HMO licence

In Newham 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 Newham 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 1 January 2023, continues for five years and applies borough wide except for the council wards of Royal Victoria and Stratford Olympic Park. You can view the public notice in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.

Newham Council seem to have excluded ‘section 257 HMOs: certain converted blocks of flats’ from 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.

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

3. Selective Licence

In Newham you need a selective licence if your property is occupied by a single household or two unrelated sharers. The scheme applies borough wide except for the council wards of Royal Victoria and Stratford Olympic Park.

The selective licensing scheme started on 1 June 2023 and continues for five years. 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 to check which Newham Council ward your property is in (here).

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

How much does a licence cost?

Mandatory HMO licence

Newham Council charge an HMO licence application fee of £1,400 for properties containing up to five lettings. The more lettings you have, the more you must pay.

Additional licence

Newham Council charge an additional licence application fee of £1,250 per property.

Selective licence

Newham Council charge a selective licence application fee of £750 per property. 

There are some discounts available, including for accredited landlords and properties with an EPC rating of ‘C’ or above.

These fees were correct as of August 2025 but may be subject to change. The fees can be viewed in full on the council’s website.

How do I apply for a licence?

Newham Council have an online property licence application system that can be accessed via the council’s website.

We offer a licence application handling service in Newham 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?

Newham Council have published local HMO guidance in Appendix 2 of their Private Rented Property Licensing guide for landlords and managing agents, which is available on the council’s website. Once you click on the link, you can view the guide in the ‘Useful links’ box on the right of the page.

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

It is important to note that absolute minimum bedroom sizes apply to 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 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?

We are unsure how many licensed properties there currently are in Newham. In May 2019, the council told us they had licensed 35,341 properties:

  • 646 mandatory HMO licences;
  • 2,609 additional licences; and
  • 32,086 selective licences.

Newham Council keeps a public register of all licensed properties which is regularly updated and can be viewed on the council’s website.

Are there lots of unlicensed properties still out there?

In May 2019, Newham Council told us there could be around 40,000 private rented properties that need licensing so there could many unlicensed properties.

Newham Council operate a robust enforcement policy and so if your property is unlicensed, or has the wrong type of licence for the current occupancy, it is important to get this rectified as soon as possible.

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 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 598 accredited landlords in Newham, which was the 11th highest out of all London boroughs.

January 2018: 894 accredited landlords
January 2019: 978 accredited landlords
January 2020: 1,105 accredited landlords
January 2021: 1,304 accredited landlords
January 2022: 1,580 accredited landlords
January 2023: 1,860 accredited landlords
January 2024: 2,294 accredited landlords

By January 2025, there were 2,480 accredited landlords, which is fourth highest 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?

Newham Council’s additional and selective licensing schemes remain in force until 2027 / 2028.

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 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 31 July 2012, Newham Council made an 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.

The Article 4 Direction applies borough-wide and came into force on 31 July 2013. From that date, even letting your property to three people who are not all related could require planning permission.

You can view a copy of the Article 4 Direction in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.
 
We have published some guidance about HMO Article 4 Directions, available here.

For more information you can visit the planning page on the council’s website. 

Remember 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. 

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: 

Property Licensing Team
Newham Council
Newham Dockside
1000 Dockside Road
London
E16 2QU

Email: propertylicensing@newham.gov.uk
Tel: 020 3373 1950
Website: www.newham.gov.uk

Latest News

Consultations

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

Schemes

There are currently no new licensing schemes we are aware of that are being introduced in the London Borough of Newham

Events

Opinion

At a Glance

Licence Overview

In Newham, mandatory HMO licensing applies borough wide. Additional and selective licensing schemes apply to most of the borough.

More Information

Contacting the Council

Tel: 020 3373 1950
Email: propertylicensing@newham.gov.uk
Weblink: Newham property licensing