Over 2,000 licence applications were approved by Hackney Council after their property licensing schemes had ended

Tuesday, October 1st, 2024 - London Property Licensing exclusive

Following a protracted investigation by London Property Licensing we can finally reveal what happened when Hackney Council’s additional and selective licensing schemes ended last year. 

As reported in August 2024 (read here), we knew Hackney Council continued to process additional and selective landlord licence applications months after their licensing schemes ended. What we didn’t know was the scale of the issue. Was it a handful of applications, or something on a larger scale? 

Freedom of Information Request

In April 2024, a Freedom of Information request was submitted to Hackney Council asking how many licence applications were outstanding when both licensing schemes ended and how many licences had been approved since that date.

No response was received and so the matter was escalated to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in June 2024. The ICO wrote to Hackney Council and asked them to respond.

With still no reply, the ICO issued a decision notice on 16 July stating that Hackney Council had breached section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act. Finally, on 2 September, the council provided a full response to London Property Licensing.

The results are in

When Hackney Council’s additional and selective licensing schemes ended on 30 September 2023, there were 1,700 additional licence applications and 652 selective licence applications that had been received but not yet approved or refused.

Based on calculations by London Property Licensing, these applications will have generated approximately £1.8 million fee income for the council. The full licence application fee was demanded at time of application which in some cases was several years earlier. 

Since the licensing schemes ended, Hackney Council has granted 1,697 additional licences and 649 selective licences and refused 6 licence applications.

On 2 September 2024, the council said they had a further 20 applications waiting to be processed. 

Richard Tacagni, MD, London Property Licensing commented:

“The findings from this investigation raise more questions than answers. Do additional and selective licensing schemes end after five years, or do they continue indefinitely until all licence applications have been processed?

“What is the legal power to grant or refuse additional and selective licences after the schemes that made these properties licensable have ended?

“If these licences were granted or refused in error after the schemes ended, can the council retain the Part 2 fee which contributes to scheme running costs and is only payable once the licence application has been processed?  

“Local authorities, landlords, agents and tenants need clarity on this important issue. I would encourage the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government to issue updated guidance on the correct process to follow when a licensing scheme ends.”   

London Property Licensing has previously invited Hackney Council to comment on this issue, but no response was received.

Our free guide containing more information about property licensing and HMO planning restrictions in the London Borough of Hackney is available here.

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