Council licensing · London
Licensing in Barking and Dagenham
Barking and Dagenham has selective licensing in 19 wards and additional HMO licensing across the whole council area.
Researched 14 October 2026 · Independently checked 14 October 2026
Check a specific address in Barking and Dagenham
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Licensing, ward by ward
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- Selective licensing area19
Additional HMO licensing also covers the whole council area.
Current ONS ward boundaries. Exemptions apply. Use the postcode check and scheme details for your property.
- Selective licensing
- 19 wards
- Additional HMO licensing
- Yes, whole council area
- Article 4 on house shares
- Yes
- Consultation
- None open
Licensing schemes
Selective licence
In forceLondon Borough of Barking and Dagenham Designation of Areas for Selective Licensing 2025
- Area
Three designation areas that together list all 19 current wards of the borough, so in practice the whole borough is covered. Area 1: Alibon, Barking Riverside, Beam, Becontree, Chadwell Heath, Eastbury, Goresbrook, Heath, Longbridge, Mayesbrook, Parsloes, Thames View, Valence, Village, Whalebone. Area 2: Abbey, Gascoigne, Northbury. Area 3: Eastbrook & Rush Green. The ONS ward lookup returns these same 19 wards for E09000002.
19 wards, as named in the designation (2022 wards):
- Alibon
- Barking Riverside
- Beam
- Becontree
- Chadwell Heath
- Eastbury
- Goresbrook
- Heath
- Longbridge
- Mayesbrook
- Parsloes
- Thames View
- Valence
- Village
- Whalebone
- Abbey
- Gascoigne
- Northbury
- Eastbrook & Rush Green
- Runs
- 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2030
- Fee
£950 for 5 years
Part A £650 (application) + Part B £300. There is no early-bird rate. Compliance-award discounts come off Part B: Silver £200 for a satisfactory compliance audit inspection, Gold £250 for an accredited landlord with a satisfactory inspection. Disqualifications include being unlicensed for more than 3 months after the scheme start or occupation. Properties unlicensed for more than 3 months before applying, or renewals made more than 1 month late, get a 1-year licence. The fees page shows no visible date; its page metadata dateModified is 2025-03-19.
- Who needs one
- Any privately rented house or flat let or occupied under a tenancy or licence in the designated areas, unless it needs an HMO licence under Part 2 (mandatory or additional). The council describes it as properties occupied by a single household.
- Exemptions
- Statutory exemptions: HMOs licensable under Part 2 (mandatory or additional), social housing let by registered providers or registered social landlords, properties under interim or final management orders or EDMOs, properties with a temporary exemption notice (s86), and tenancies or licences exempt under the Selective Licensing of Houses (Specified Exemptions) (England) Order 2006. The council's exemptions table also lists owner-occupiers, holiday lets, long leases, business tenancies, charity-managed HMOs, religious communities, student halls and homes with up to two lodgers.
- Notes
- This scheme replaces the 2019 borough-wide selective scheme, which ran from 1 Sep 2019 to 31 Aug 2024. The council's 2025-27 enforcement policy gives those dates. Between Sep 2024 and 5 Apr 2025 there was no selective scheme. The designation was approved by the Assembly on 18 Sep 2024 and made on 6 Jan 2025. It relies on the 2024 General Approval (in effect 23 Dec 2024), so no Secretary of State confirmation was needed. Every property is inspected before a licence is issued. Applications opened on 17 Mar 2025.
Additional HMO licence
In forceThe London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Designation of an Area for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation 2025
- Area
The entire London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
- Runs
- 9 January 2025 to 8 January 2030
- Fee
£1,400 for 5 years
Part A £1,000 + Part B £400. The same Silver (£200) and Gold (£250) compliance-award discounts apply to Part B. The same reduced-term rules apply: a 1-year licence if the property was unlicensed for more than 3 months or a renewal is more than 1 month late.
- Who needs one
- HMOs (s254 Housing Act 2004) occupied by 3 or more people forming 2 or more households that are not already subject to mandatory HMO licensing. In practice this means smaller HMOs with 3 or 4 occupiers.
- Exemptions
- Schedule 14 buildings, HMOs under interim or final management orders, HMOs with a temporary exemption notice (s62), mandatory-licensable HMOs, and s257 converted blocks of flats.
- Notes
- The designation was made on 9 Oct 2024 under the 2015 General Approval. The council's Cabinet approved it on 23 Jul 2024. Applications opened on 9 Dec 2024. The dates in the sealed notice are partly handwritten; they were read from the rendered PDF page as in force 9 Jan 2025 and ceasing 8 Jan 2030.
Mandatory HMO licence
In forceMandatory HMO licensing (Housing Act 2004 Part 2)
- Area
National scheme, applies across the whole borough.
- Fee
£1,500 for 5 years
Part A £1,000 plus a Part B that depends on habitable rooms: up to 5 rooms £500, 6-9 rooms £600, 10-14 rooms £700, 15-19 rooms £800, 20+ rooms £1,000. The standard_gbp figure is Part A plus the smallest Part B band. Optional specialist application assistance costs £170-£210 plus £10 per room. The Silver and Gold Part B discounts are described as applying to licensing schemes generally.
- Who needs one
- HMOs occupied by 5 or more people forming 2 or more households.
- Exemptions
- S257 HMOs (converted blocks not meeting the 1991 Building Regulations where fewer than two-thirds of flats are owner-occupied) and flats in purpose-built blocks of 3 or more flats are exempt from mandatory licensing. Such lets may still need a selective or additional licence.
- Notes
- Included because the council publishes its own mandatory HMO fee table.
Article 4 for house shares
Barking and Dagenham has an Article 4 direction on houses in multiple occupation. Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission.
- Area
- The whole council area
- Takes effect
- 14 May 2012
Civil penalty policy
The council's policy sets how it decides the size of a fine. The version we found has been updated for the Renters' Rights Act.
The policy is titled 'Civil penalties under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and other housing legislation'. The PDF metadata shows a model policy (V16, dated 16 Jan 2026), and it was uploaded to the council site in June 2026. The statutory maximum is £40,000 for licensing offences and £7,000 for lower-tier RRA breaches. Penalties are set in five steps: (1) a starting point from the MHCLG statutory guidance; (2) a 'Landlord Type' adjustment of +20% (6+ properties ever, 3+ HMOs, corporate landlord or director, or significant experience) or -20% (2 or fewer properties, at most 1 HMO and very limited experience); (3) aggravating and mitigating factors, each capped at +/-20% of the starting point except in exceptional cases; (4) financial considerations, with detailed evidence required to claim inability to pay; (5) totality. Starting points: failure to obtain a selective licence £12,000 (range £9,600 to £14,400 after Landlord Type); failure to obtain an HMO licence £17,000 (£13,600 to £20,400). There is a 15% discount for full payment within the final-notice period, normally 28 days. The older Private Sector Housing Licensing and Enforcement Policy 2025-27 (last updated 18 Jul 2025) still contains a pre-RRA matrix with a £30,000 cap and outdated selective-scheme dates, and was still online when checked.
Consultations
Closed 26 April 2024
Not yet confirmed
These points were unresolved when we researched Barking and Dagenham on 14 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.
- Not yet confirmed
No published licence conditions document was found on the council's licensing pages. conditions_url is null for all schemes.
- Not yet confirmed
The fees page has no visible 'last updated' date. Fees were taken from the page as fetched on 2026-10-14; its metadata says modified 2025-03-19. The council says fees are reviewed annually.
- Not yet confirmed
Two penalty documents are online. The 2026 Civil Financial Penalty Policy (RRA-compliant, £40,000 cap) and the older Licensing and Enforcement Policy 2025-27 (£30,000 cap, outdated selective dates) give different matrices. It is assumed that the 2026 policy governs penalties issued from May 2026.
- Not yet confirmed
Not independently re-checked (verification of 2026-10-14): the Cabinet approval of the additional designation (23 Jul 2024) and the date applications opened (9 Dec 2024). The sealed designation's own dates (made 9 Oct 2024, in force 9 Jan 2025, ceasing 8 Jan 2030) were confirmed.
Landlord register
Licensing is separate from the national landlord register. Barking and Dagenham is in London, where the planned registration window runs from 15 July 2027 to 14 October 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Register dates, fee and documents