Additional HMO licensing in Kensington & Chelsea

Common questions

What the designation says

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea operates a borough-wide Additional HMO Licensing Scheme that came into force on 1 June 2023 and runs for five years (designation expires around 31 May 2028). The scheme was approved following a public consultation that ran in 2022, despite 63% of consultation respondents disagreeing with the proposal — the council believed the evidence (38% of respondents reporting disrepair and rubbish-dumping issues, 32% citing general lack of management) justified the scheme. Kensington and Chelsea has a particularly large private rented sector: 44% of all properties in the borough are privately rented, and HMOs make up a significant share of the lower-cost private housing stock. The scheme covers all Houses in Multiple Occupation in the borough that fall outside the mandatory HMO licensing regime — that is, properties occupied by three or more people forming two or more households who share kitchen, bathroom or toilet facilities (typically shared houses or shared flats). The scheme also INCLUDES section 257 HMOs (buildings converted into self-contained flats where the conversion did not comply with current Building Regulations), which was the most contentious element of the consultation (56% of respondents felt section 257 properties should be excluded). For properties that are flats in purpose-built blocks, the licence type depends on the size of the block: a flat in a purpose-built block containing only two flats falls under mandatory HMO licensing, while a flat in a purpose-built block containing more than two flats falls under additional HMO licensing. The application fee for both mandatory and additional HMO licences is determined on application based on property size, with Kamma estimating around £1,600 for an average-sized property (correct as of July 2025). Where a single applicant submits more than three HMO licence applications with the same landlord and managing agent, a £30 reduction is applied to each application. The discount does NOT apply where a landlord has failed to apply for a licence and the unlicensed HMO has come to the council's attention through other means. Operating an unlicensed HMO exposes the landlord to prosecution with an unlimited fine, a civil financial penalty of up to £40,000 per offence without warning, Rent Repayment Orders of up to two years' rent for offences on or after 1 May 2026 (12 months before that date), and entry on the Mayor of London Rogue Landlord Checker. The £40,000 ceiling applies to offences committed on or after 1 May 2026; the £30,000 ceiling still applies to offences committed before that date.

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 £40,000 per offence and a rent repayment order of up to two years' rent. Both maxima apply to conduct on or after 1 May 2026; before that date they were £30,000 and twelve months. Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026 and possession now runs through the amended section 8 grounds. Mandatory HMO licensing applies separately and everywhere, wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households.

Kensington & Chelsea's own licensing page →