Rental Property Licensing in London

London has more active landlord licensing schemes than anywhere else in England. With 33 boroughs, each with the power to introduce its own selective and additional licensing schemes, the picture is complex and changes frequently. Here is an overview of what is in place across the capital.

Why London has so many licensing schemes

London's private rented sector is enormous. Millions of people rent privately across the capital, and the quality and management of that housing varies enormously. Many London boroughs have used selective and additional licensing as a way to raise standards, address anti-social behaviour and ensure landlords are accountable for their properties.

The result is a patchwork of schemes that can be very difficult to navigate. A property in one street may need a licence while a property in the next street does not. Even within a single borough, different wards can have different requirements.

Boroughs with the most active licensing regimes

Several London boroughs stand out for the breadth and depth of their licensing schemes.

Tower Hamlets operates selective licensing in the Whitechapel, Weavers, Spitalfields and Banglatown wards, alongside borough-wide additional licensing for smaller HMOs. From April 2024, HMO properties within the selective licensing area require an additional licence rather than a selective one.

Newham requires a licence for almost every privately rented property in the borough. Selective licences cost £750 for five years, and additional licences for smaller HMOs cost £1,250. The scheme covers most wards except Royal Victoria and Stratford Olympic Park.

Hackney operates selective licensing across 17 wards, covering most of the borough. The scheme was expanded in 2024. Additional licensing for smaller HMOs also applies.

Haringey has operated borough-wide additional licensing since May 2019 and introduced selective licensing across specific wards from November 2022. A selective licence costs £642 for the five-year scheme.

Waltham Forest launched a new borough-wide selective licensing scheme in May 2025, covering all wards except Endlebury, with a standard fee of £895.

Croydon is in the process of introducing selective and additional licensing schemes following a consultation that ran from October 2025 to January 2026.

Boroughs with mandatory HMO licensing only

Every London borough enforces mandatory HMO licensing for properties with five or more tenants from two or more households sharing facilities. This is a national requirement under the Housing Act 2004. In boroughs without selective or additional licensing schemes, this is the only licensing requirement for most landlords.

How to check if your London property needs a licence

Because licensing in London is so fragmented, the only reliable way to know whether a specific property needs a licence is to check its address. Use Tuxa to get an immediate answer for any address in London. The tool checks against the current licensing data for all London boroughs and tells you exactly which scheme applies, if any.

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Tuxa monitors licensing scheme data across all London boroughs and the rest of England. Use the search above to check any property.