Additional HMO licensing in Islington

What the designation says

London Borough of Islington operates a BOROUGH-WIDE Additional HMO Licensing Scheme. The original scheme came into force on 1 February 2021 for 5 years. On 23 October 2025 Islington Council's Executive resolved to renew the borough-wide additional licensing scheme. The renewed scheme came into force on 1 February 2026 and runs until 2031 . Designation under section 56 of the Housing Act 2004. LICENSED PROPERTY VOLUMES (April 2024 baseline): 567 properties under Mandatory HMO; 3,247 properties under Additional HMO; 1,719 properties under Selective. Estimated coverage: ~700 mandatory, ~3,500 additional, ~5,000 selective. A pilot HMO licensing scheme in Caledonian and Holloway Roads has been in place since 2015. Any privately rented property occupied by 3 or 4 unrelated people forming 2+ households sharing facilities. Includes section 257 HMOs — RESTRICTED to situations where ALL flats are privately rented AND under one single freehold ownership AND the conversion did not meet Building Regulations 1991. All flats let to 3+ unrelated people forming 2+ households located within a purpose-built block of flats not covered by mandatory. Charged per letting (each bedsit room or bedroom in a shared house/flat). Application fee £900 + £100 per letting (£1,400 for a 5-person shared house). Different fee rates for section 257 HMOs (£288 per bedroom or £703 for a block of flats under single ownership per Kamma reporting). Two-part instalments. Discounts: £75 for accredited landlords/managing agents; £50 for EPC rating A-C. NO discounts where late application, council warning letter for failure to licence, or two requests for missing documents. Kitchen/bathroom facilities, room sizes, fire safety, gas safety (annual certificate), electrical safety (5-year EICR), waste management, anti-social behaviour management, fit and proper person test for licence holder. Section 95(1) Housing Act 2004 — operating an unlicensed licensable property is a criminal offence. Civil financial penalty up to £30,000 per offence. Unlimited fine on conviction. RROs up to 12 months (24 months under Renters' Rights Act 2025). Section 21 invalid where unlicensed. Tenants can verify via Islington Landlord Licence Public Register. propertylicensing.islington.gov.uk online application portal.

What this means for a landlord

A licence must be in place before the property is let, not applied for afterwards. Operating unlicensed in a designated area is a criminal offence: a civil penalty of up to £30,000 per offence, a rent repayment order of up to twelve months' rent, and a section 21 notice that cannot be served while the property is unlicensed. Mandatory HMO licensing applies separately and everywhere, wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households.

Islington's own licensing page →