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Council licensing · London

Licensing in the City of London

The City of London has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.

Researched 14 October 2026 · Independently checked 14 October 2026

Check a specific address in the City of London

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.

  • National rules only25

Current ONS ward boundaries. Exemptions apply. Use the postcode check and scheme details for your property.

Selective licensing
None
Additional HMO licensing
No
Article 4 on house shares
None found
Consultation
None open

Licensing schemes

  • Mandatory HMO licence

    In forceMedium confidence

    Mandatory HMO licensing (Housing Act 2004 Part 2)

    Area

    National scheme, applies across the whole City of London.

    Fee

    £1,050

    The fee is the same for new licences and renewals and is paid in two parts. The initial fee on application is £600. The fee on grant depends on the number of lettings: up to 5 lettings £450, 6-9 £600, 10-14 £750, 15-19 £900, 20+ £1,050. standard_gbp is £600 + £450 for up to 5 lettings, calculated. The HMO page was last updated 16 Feb 2023, so fees may not reflect current charges. No discounts are listed.

    Who needs one
    Houses or flats shared by 5 or more people forming 2 or more households.
    Notes
    This is the only licensing scheme found. The City Corporation's pages mention only mandatory HMO licensing; no additional or selective designation, proposal or consultation was found. The pages are old: the HMO page was updated 16 Feb 2023 and the private rented page 21 Sep 2023. They cite the 2006 prescribed-description order and a '£20,000' fine, both out of date. The 2018 order changed the mandatory definition, and the RRA set a £40,000 civil penalty maximum. The public guidance gives no licence length.
    Apply on the council siteLicence conditions

    Sources

Article 4 for house shares

We found no Article 4 direction on house shares in the City of London.

Council source

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.

No housing-specific civil penalty policy or matrix was found. The closest document is the Port Health & Public Protection 'Policy Statement on Enforcement' (published 14 Feb 2025, revised 2024/25). It covers private sector housing among other regulatory functions and lists general enforcement options (advice, FPNs, PCNs, statutory notices, prosecution, Proceeds of Crime). It does not set out Housing Act 2004 / Housing and Planning Act 2016 civil penalty levels and does not mention the Renters' Rights Act 2025. The City's HMO page still says an unlicensed HMO can attract 'a fine of £20,000'.

The City of London's civil penalty policy

Consultations

No consultation was recorded when we researched the City of London.

Not yet confirmed

These points were unresolved when we researched the City of London on 14 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

  • Not yet confirmed

    No Housing Act civil penalty policy, RRA-updated or otherwise, was found for the City of London. The Corporation may hold one that is not published on the licensing or environmental health pages.

  • Not yet confirmed

    HMO fees were last shown on a page updated 16 Feb 2023. Current 2026/27 fees are unconfirmed.

  • Not yet confirmed

    The public pages state no licence term for City HMO licences.

  • Not yet confirmed

    No HMO (C3 to C4) Article 4 direction was found. The City's Planning Policy Library 'Article 4' category lists only office-to-residential directions (2018 and July 2021). Absence was inferred from that list.

  • Not yet confirmed

    Not independently re-checked (verification of 2026-10-14): the absence of additional or selective licensing is inferred from the City's HMO and private rented accommodation pages, not from a council statement.

Landlord register

Licensing is separate from the national landlord register. The City of London 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