London · Council licensing
Landlord licensing in Camden
✓ Hand-verified 19 Aug 2026Camden operates discretionary property licensing. Letting an unlicensed property where a scheme applies risks a civil penalty of up to £30,000 and a rent repayment order — check whether your property is covered below.
Required for any HMO let to 5 or more people forming 2+ households who share facilities.
Paid in two parts — one on application, the balance before the licence is issued.
| Part 1 | £1,297 |
| Part 2 | £234 |
| Total | £1,531 |
Camden — Camden HMO licensing application fees PDF, read 19 Aug 2026
Camden does not operate a selective licensing scheme. The council states there is no such scheme in place, though it has sought initial views on whether one should be introduced in future to licence all privately rented accommodation rather than only houses in multiple occupation. That distinction matters: Camden's borough-wide additional licensing scheme already catches any property occupied by three or more people forming two or more households, so a shared home needs a licence. What is not caught is an ordinary flat or house let to a single household, which needs no property licence in Camden at present. Because the council has consulted on the idea, a landlord letting a single-household property should recheck the position before a new tenancy rather than assume it is settled.
Camden operates a borough-wide additional licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation. The current designation is the third in succession: it started on 8 December 2025 and replaced the previous borough-wide scheme, which had run for five years from December 2020. A licence is required for shared homes across the borough, including house and flat shares, student housing, bedsits and some buildings converted into flats, which brings smaller shared properties within licensing well below the five-occupant threshold of the mandatory regime. Licences normally run for five years and the council opens its renewal portal thirty days before an existing licence expires, so a landlord holding a licence under the previous designation should check the expiry date on that licence rather than relying on the scheme start date. Letting a licensable HMO without a licence carries a civil penalty of up to £30,000 or prosecution, and exposes the landlord to a rent repayment order. The council renewed the scheme for a further five years, running to December 2030.
Areas: Whole borough, including s.257 HMOs where fewer than half the flats are owner-occupied. Made 2 July 2025 under the 23 December 2024 General Approval. Camden's third borough-wide additional scheme; the previous one ran to 8 December 2020 and its renewal lapsed before this one commenced
Paid in two parts — one on application, the balance before the licence is issued.
| Part 1 | £1,297 |
| Part 2 | £234 |
| Total | £1,531 |
- £100 off Part 2 for accredited private landlords
Camden — Camden HMO licensing application fees PDF, fees effective from, read 24 April 2025
Scheme runs until: 8 December 2030
Common questions
Does Camden have a selective licensing scheme?
No. Camden does not currently operate a selective licensing scheme. Mandatory HMO licensing still applies wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households.
Does Camden have an additional HMO licensing scheme?
Yes. Camden operates an additional HMO licensing scheme. Letting a property covered by it without a licence risks a civil penalty of up to £30,000, a rent repayment order of up to twelve months' rent, and the loss of the right to serve a section 21 notice.
Do I need an HMO licence in Camden?
A mandatory HMO licence is required anywhere in England and Wales, including Camden, where a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households who share basic amenities. Smaller shared houses may also need a licence where an additional licensing scheme applies.
- Free landlord compliance check — five questions, no account
- Tenancy agreement checker — findings cited to the Act and section
Additional HMO licensing in Camden: areas, dates and fees →
All property licensing in London →
Source: Camden licensing page →
Every landlord in Camden also needs
A valid Gas Safety certificate (annual), an EICR (every 5 years), a valid EPC, a protected deposit, smoke & CO alarms, the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet, and a current How to Rent guide — plus the new Section 8 possession rules since Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026.
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