Council licensing · London
Licensing in Brent
Brent has selective licensing in 21 wards and additional HMO licensing across the whole council area.
Researched 14 October 2026 · Independently checked 14 October 2026
Check a specific address in Brent
We match the postcode to its ward and the schemes below.
Licensing, ward by ward
Tap a ward, or focus it with your keyboard, to see its name and recorded coverage.
- Selective licensing area21
- Additional HMO licensing area1
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
- 21 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 Brent Council Designation for an Area for Selective Licensing No: 1/2023
- Area
The electoral wards of Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green, shaded lilac on the designation map.
3 wards, as named in the designation (2022 wards):
- Dollis Hill
- Harlesden & Kensal Green
- Willesden Green
- Runs
- 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2028
- Fee
£640 for 5 years
New application £640 (Part 1 £340 non-refundable + Part 2 £300 on grant). Renewal £600 (£300 + £300). London Landlord Accreditation Scheme members get £40 off. Help completing the application costs £100. The selective fee appears only under 'Current prices'; the 'New prices from 2 February 2026' table lists only HMO fees. Licences are issued for 1 or 5 years, with 5 years where possible.
- Who needs one
- Any privately rented house or flat let to a single person, two people or a single household, unless it is an HMO needing a Part 2 licence.
- Exemptions
- HMOs requiring a Part 2 licence; tenancies granted by a registered social landlord; properties under interim or final management orders; properties with a temporary exemption notice (s86); and tenancies exempt under the Selective Licensing of Houses (Specified Exemptions) (England) Order 2006 (SI 2006/370).
- Notes
- Cabinet made the designation on 17 Apr 2023. It replaced earlier selective schemes covering the pre-2022 wards of Harlesden, Wembley Central and Willesden Green (2015 scheme, ended 31 Dec 2019) and Dudden Hill, Kilburn, Queens Park, Kensal Green and Mapesbury (2018 scheme, ended 30 Apr 2023). The designation notice still quotes the pre-RRA £30,000 penalty cap, while the licensing page says £40,000.
Selective licence
In forceLondon Borough of Brent Council Designation for Areas for Selective Licensing 2023, No 2 (Designation 2/2023)
- Area
18 wards, shaded yellow on the designation map. Wembley Park is excluded because it did not meet the criteria. Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green are covered by Designation 1/2023. Together the two designations cover every Brent ward except Wembley Park.
18 wards, as named in the designation (2022 wards):
- Alperton
- Barnhill
- Brondesbury Park
- Cricklewood & Mapesbury
- Kenton
- Kilburn
- Kingsbury
- Northwick Park
- Preston
- Queens Park
- Queensbury
- Roundwood
- Stonebridge
- Sudbury
- Tokyngton
- Welsh Harp
- Wembley Central
- Wembley Hill
- Runs
- 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029
- Fee
£640 for 5 years
Same as Designation 1: new £640 (£340 + £300), renewal £600, £40 off for LLAS accreditation, £100 for application help.
- Who needs one
- Any privately rented house or flat let to a single person, two people or a single household, unless it is an HMO needing a Part 2 licence.
- Exemptions
- Same statutory exemptions as Designation 1: Part 2 HMOs, registered social landlord tenancies, management orders, temporary exemption notices (s86), and Annex B exempt tenancies.
- Notes
- The designation was made on 17 Jul 2023 and confirmed by the Secretary of State (DLUHC) on 30 Nov 2023, under the pre-2024 rules that required confirmation for schemes over 20% of the borough. The designation says it ceases 'five years after' 1 Apr 2024, so end_date is recorded as 31 Mar 2029. The council's web notice says it ceases 'after 3 March 2029', which looks like a typo.
Additional HMO licence
In forceThe London Borough of Brent Council Designation of an Area for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation 2026 (Designation 3/2025)
- Area
The whole district of the London Borough of Brent, edged red on the map at Annex A.
- Runs
- 2 February 2026 to 1 February 2031
- Fee
£1,040 for 5 years
From 2 Feb 2026: a new application is £1,040 (Part 1 £540 non-refundable + Part 2 £500 on grant), and a renewal is £940 (£500 + £440). LLAS accreditation gives £40 off. Applications received before 2 Feb 2026 were charged the old fees (new £840, renewal £740).
- Who needs one
- Privately rented HMOs occupied by 3 or 4 people from 2 or more households, and HMOs outside mandatory licensing. These include s257 HMOs (converted self-contained flats not meeting the 1991 Building Regulations where less than two-thirds are owner-occupied) and HMO flats in purpose-built blocks of 3 or more flats.
- Exemptions
- Annex C buildings (not HMOs for licensing purposes), HMOs under interim or final management orders, HMOs with a temporary exemption notice (s62), and HMOs requiring a mandatory licence.
- Notes
- This scheme started recently. Cabinet made the designation on 13 Oct 2025 under the 2024 General Approval. The web notice cites the 2010 General Approval instead, an error in the web copy. The previous borough-wide additional scheme ran from 1 Feb 2020 to 31 Jan 2025, after the first in 2017. Between 1 Feb 2025 and 1 Feb 2026 there was no additional licensing in Brent. The council says licences issued under the old scheme stay valid until they expire. The designation PDF says 'This designation shall cease to have effect on 02 February 2031', the fifth anniversary of its start, so end_date is 1 Feb 2031, the last day in force. The web notice says instead that it 'shall cease to have effect after 02 February 2031'; the designation's own wording is used. The designated-area map is Annex A of the designation PDF (the council's selective licensing map page does not cover this scheme).
Mandatory HMO licence
In forceMandatory HMO licensing (Housing Act 2004 Part 2)
- Area
National scheme, applies across the whole borough.
- Fee
£1,040 for 5 years
From 2 Feb 2026: a new application is £1,040 (Part 1 £540 + Part 2 £500) plus £25 for each habitable room over the first five. A renewal is £940 (£500 + £440) plus £25 per room over five. LLAS accreditation gives £40 off. Cabinet applied the new additional-licensing fee structure to mandatory licences as well.
- Who needs one
- HMOs with 5 or more people in 2 or more households sharing facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom or toilet.
- Notes
- Included because the council publishes its own mandatory HMO fee.
Article 4 for house shares
Brent has an Article 4 direction on houses in multiple occupation. Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission.
- Area
- Most of the borough. The direction covers the whole of Brent except the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation area, the Local Plan site allocations in the Church End Growth Area, and all parts of the other seven Growth Areas identified in the Local Plan. The individual Growth Areas are not named in the notice; see the direction map.
- Takes effect
- 1 November 2022
Civil penalty policy
The council's policy sets how it decides the size of a fine. The version we found has not been updated for the Renters' Rights Act.
The latest policy found is the Brent Private Housing Services Enforcement Policy. It was created in 2018, modified in Apr 2023 per the PDF metadata, and published as Appendix 6 to a 2023 Cabinet report. It describes Housing and Planning Act 2016 civil penalties up to £30,000 for failing to license, licence-condition breaches, HMO management regulation breaches, improvement notices, overcrowding notices and banning-order breaches, decided case by case as an alternative to prosecution. A 2017 Cabinet report says penalty levels are set with a 'Civil Penalty Notice Matrix' based on government guidance, but the matrix appendix was not located. The licensing page now says 'up to £40,000 per offence', while the designation notices and other text on the same page still say £30,000. No RRA-specific civil penalty policy was found. The council's Renters' Rights Act page (updated 10 Jun 2026) mentions stronger powers but links no policy.
Consultations
Closed 10 June 2025
Closed 23 January 2023
Not yet confirmed
These points were unresolved when we researched Brent on 14 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.
- Not yet confirmed
No Renters' Rights Act-updated civil penalty policy or current penalty matrix was found for Brent. The 2017 matrix appendix was not located.
- Not yet confirmed
The end date of Designation 2/2023 is inconsistent: the legal designation says 'five years after' 1 Apr 2024, and the web notice says 'after 3 March 2029'. 31 Mar 2029 is recorded.
- Not yet confirmed
The fee page is ambiguously labelled: HMO fees appear as 'New prices from 2 February 2026' next to 'Current prices'. The selective fee (£640) appears only under 'Current prices', so a 2026 selective fee change cannot be ruled out.
- Not yet confirmed
The Article 4 direction excludes the Growth Areas. Exact boundaries are on the direction map, which was not fetched.
- Not yet confirmed
The licensing page carries conflicting penalty figures (£40,000 and £30,000) and still mentions 12-month rent repayment orders.
Landlord register
Licensing is separate from the national landlord register. Brent 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