Council licensing · London
Licensing in Havering
Havering has selective licensing in 7 wards and additional HMO licensing across the whole council area.
Researched 14 October 2026 · Independently checked 14 October 2026
Check a specific address in Havering
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 area7
- Additional HMO licensing area13
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
- 7 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 Havering Designation of an Area for Selective Licensing No.2 2026 (Scheme 2)
- Area
Seven of Havering's 20 wards, shaded red on the designation map. The other 13 wards are expressly excluded: Havering Atte-Bower, Gooshays, Mawneys, Marshalls & Rise Park, Heaton, Hylands & Harrow Lodge, Emerson Park, Cranham, St. Andrews, Hacton, Elm Park, South Hornchurch, Upminster.
7 wards, as named in the designation (2022 wards (current)):
- Beam Park
- Harold Wood
- Rainham & Wennington
- Rush Green & Crowlands
- Squirrels Heath
- St Albans
- St Edwards
- Runs
- 18 March 2026 to 17 March 2031
- Fee
£950 for 5 years
Part A (application) £570 + Part B (licensing) £380 = £950 before discounts. Part B discounts: £100 for accredited landlords; £75 for EPC rating C or above (if all documents supplied on application). Multiple-property discount of £100 per dwelling after the first in the same building under common ownership and management (from 1 April 2023). No discounts once a warning letter for failing to licence has been served. No early-application discount. Paper application surcharge £117.10. Fee page shows no update date.
- Who needs one
- Any house let or occupied under a single tenancy, or 2 or more tenancies or licences of different dwellings, in the seven wards. The council describes this as homes let to a single family or 1 to 2 unrelated occupants.
- Exemptions
- Mandatory HMOs; HMOs licensable under the borough's additional HMO designation; registered social landlord tenancies; houses under Interim/Final Management Orders; s86 temporary exemptions; tenancies exempt under SI 2006/370. Designation footnote: section 257 HMO buildings are not licensed under additional licensing, so individual single-household flats in such buildings need a selective licence.
- Notes
- Cabinet decision on 10 December 2025, with the designation made on 18 December 2025 under the General Approval 2024. Applications opened 25 January 2026. A replacement for the 2020 selective scheme (Brooklands and Romford Town), which ended 24 January 2026, so no selective designation was in force from 25 January to 17 March 2026. Licence holders may continue to rent while an application is pending. Selective licence conditions were approved as Appendix 10 to the December 2025 Cabinet report.
Additional HMO licence
In forceLondon Borough of Havering Designation for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation No.2 2026 (Scheme 3)
- Area
All wards in the London Borough of Havering (area outlined in red at Annex A).
- Runs
- 18 March 2026 to 17 March 2031
- Fee
£1,400 for 5 years
Part A (application) £840 + Part B (licensing) £560 = £1,400 before discounts. Part B discounts as for selective: £100 accredited, £75 EPC C+, £100 per additional dwelling in the same building. No early-application discount.
- Who needs one
- HMOs occupied by three or four persons in two or more households that meet the standard, self-contained flat (including all purpose-built flats) or converted building tests, or are subject to an HMO declaration. Also covers section 257 converted-building HMOs where all units are privately rented and the building and units are in the same ownership, including above non-residential premises.
- Exemptions
- Schedule 14 buildings; HMOs under Interim/Final Management Orders; s62 temporary exemptions; mandatory HMOs; s257 converted buildings of no more than two flats.
- Notes
- The council's download URL slug calls this a 'selective designation', but the PDF is the additional HMO designation. Made 18 December 2025 under ss56 and 58 and the General Approval 2024. Replaces the 2020 additional scheme, which covered six pre-2022 wards and ended 24 January 2026. HMOs need C4 planning use (Article 4 applies). The council issues 1-year licences where an HMO applies without planning consent or a Certificate of Lawful Use, and does not refund the fee if planning permission is refused. Additional HMO licence conditions were approved as Appendix 9 to the December 2025 Cabinet report.
Mandatory HMO licence
In forceMandatory HMO licensing (Housing Act 2004 Part 2)
- Area
National scheme, applies across the borough.
- Fee
£1,329 for 5 years
Banded by number of lettings, Part A (application) + Part B (licence): up to 5 lettings £1,063 + £266; 6-9 £1,224.30 + £306; 10-14 £1,404.20 + £351; 15-19 £1,553 + £388.10; 20+ £1,704 + £426. standard_gbp is the up-to-5-lettings total.
- Who needs one
- Properties occupied by 5 or more people from 2 or more households with shared facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom or toilet.
- Exemptions
- Council exemptions page lists buildings managed by local housing authorities, registered social landlords, police, fire and health bodies, buildings regulated by other enactments, certain student accommodation, religious communities, and two-person two-household buildings.
- Notes
- Statutory notice fee £609. HMO licences may be issued for 1 year where planning consent for C4 or sui generis use is not in place.
Selective licence
EndedLondon Borough of Havering Designation of an Area for Selective Licensing (October 2020)
- Area
Area delineated and shaded pink on the map in the public notice, covering the designated wards listed.
2 wards, as named in the designation (pre-2022 wards):
- Brooklands
- Romford Town
- Runs
- 25 January 2021 to 24 January 2026
- Fee
Not yet confirmed
Scheme ended.
- Who needs one
- All privately rented properties occupied by single households in the designated area that are not licensable HMOs.
- Notes
- Designated 14 October 2020. Ceased 24 January 2026. Romford Town and Brooklands are now outside the 2026 selective designation, which covers different wards under 2022 boundaries.
Additional HMO licence
EndedLondon Borough of Havering Designation of an Area for Additional Licensing (October 2020)
- Area
Area delineated and shaded pink on the map in the public notice, covering the designated wards listed.
6 wards, as named in the designation (pre-2022 wards):
- Emerson Park
- Hylands
- Saint Andrews
- Cranham
- Hacton
- Upminster
- Runs
- 25 January 2021 to 24 January 2026
- Fee
Not yet confirmed
Scheme ended; replaced borough-wide from 18 March 2026.
- Who needs one
- All privately rented HMOs in the designated area that are not subject to mandatory licensing or a statutory exemption.
- Notes
- Designated 14 October 2020. Ceased 24 January 2026, leaving a gap until the borough-wide additional scheme started on 18 March 2026.
Article 4 for house shares
Havering has an Article 4 direction on houses in multiple occupation. Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission.
- Area
- Specific areas: Direction Art4/1/2015 removes C3 to C4 permitted development for any dwelling in Brooklands, Romford Town, Heaton and Gooshays wards; Direction Art4/2/2015 covers the rest of the borough but only flats, terraced houses and semi-detached houses (detached houses outside those four wards are not covered). Boundaries are the 2015 ward boundaries and were not changed by the May 2022 ward changes.
- Takes effect
- 13 July 2016
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 Housing Enforcement Policy and Civil Penalty Notice policy were updated for the Renters' Rights Act 2025 by an urgent key decision of the Director of Planning & Public Protection on 30 April 2026 (CPN policy: https://democracy.havering.gov.uk/documents/s84003/28.%20App%202%20LBH%20Draft%20CPN%20policy.pdf). Statutory maximum is £40,000 for licensing offences and £7,000 for listed RRA breaches. Steps: (1) starting point from MHCLG statutory guidance by seriousness of offence; (2) 'Landlord Type' adjustment of +20% (e.g. 6+ properties ever, 3+ HMOs, corporate landlord or director, significant experience) or -20% (2 or fewer properties, 1 or fewer HMO, very limited experience); (3) mitigating and aggravating factors up to ±20% of the starting point; (4) financial considerations; (5) totality. Failure to obtain an HMO licence (s72(1)) starts at £17,000 (£13,600 down, £20,400 up). Failure to obtain a selective licence (s95(1)) starts at £12,000 (£9,600 down, £14,400 up). The council sets its own starting levels for licence-condition breaches. A separate penalty is usually imposed per offence and per offender.
Consultations
Closed 6 July 2025
Not yet confirmed
These points were unresolved when we researched Havering on 14 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.
- Not yet confirmed
Section 257 inconsistency: the Scheme 2 (selective) designation footnote says the council is 'not licensing Section 257 HMO buildings under the additional licensing scheme', but the Scheme 3 (additional) designation expressly includes s257 converted buildings where all units are privately rented and in the same ownership (excluding buildings of no more than two flats). Confirm which applies.
- Not yet confirmed
Scheme 2 refers to the additional designation as the 'Designation of an Area for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation 2025 made on 18th December 2025', whereas Scheme 3 calls itself 'No.2 2026'. They appear to be the same instrument but are named differently.
- Not yet confirmed
Licence conditions (Appendices 9 and 10 to the 10 December 2025 Cabinet report) were not found as standalone published documents.
- Not yet confirmed
The property licensing page and both designations still state a maximum financial penalty of £30,000, but the updated CPN policy (30 April 2026) uses the £40,000 statutory maximum.
- Not yet confirmed
Gap between schemes: the 2020 selective and additional designations ended 24 January 2026 and the new schemes started 18 March 2026. How licences issued under the 2020 schemes were treated in the interim was not confirmed.
- Not yet confirmed
Not independently re-checked (verification of 2026-10-14): the consultation closing date (6 July 2025) against the consultation report.
Landlord register
Licensing is separate from the national landlord register. Havering 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