Council licensing · London

Licensing in Hounslow

Hounslow has additional HMO licensing across the whole council area.

Researched 14 October 2026 · Independently checked 14 October 2026

Check a specific address in Hounslow

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.

Additional HMO licensing area22

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: None
Additional HMO licensing: Yes, whole council area
Article 4 on house shares: Yes
Consultation: None open

Licensing schemes

Additional HMO licence
In force
London Borough of Hounslow Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation Scheme (4) 2025
Area
The whole area of the district of the London Borough of Hounslow, delineated and edged red on the map at Annex A.
Runs
11 December 2025 to 10 December 2030
Fee
£1,608 for 5 years
New or renewal HMO licence: base fee £1,608 (£1,509 if an accredited landlord) plus £25 per household in the HMO. Accreditation schemes: LLAS, NLA, RLA, ARLA, NALS, RICS, UKALA. Extra fee for assisted measuring and sketch plan. No refunds on withdrawal, refusal, revocation, later planning refusal, or the property ceasing to be an HMO. The same fee applies to mandatory and additional licences. Fee page shows no update date.
Who needs one
All section 254 HMOs occupied by three or more persons in two or more households, and section 257 converted-building HMOs where the building and all dwellings in it are in the same ownership or effectively in the same control.
Exemptions
Buildings in Annex C (not HMOs for the purposes of the Act other than Part 1); HMOs under Interim/Final Management Orders; s62 temporary exemptions; HMOs requiring a mandatory licence.
Notes
Renewal approved at Cabinet on 2 September 2025. Designation made 11 September 2025 and in force 11 December 2025. The previous borough-wide additional scheme expired 31 July 2025 (per the February 2025 Cabinet decision), so there was no additional licensing in Hounslow from 1 August to 10 December 2025. That expiry is more than 12 months ago, so the old scheme is not listed separately. The council normally issues a 1-year licence where there are management or condition concerns or deliberate avoidance of licensing. The HMO licensing policy (https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/downloads/file/11547/hmo-licensing-policy-2025) considers planning status. Designation paragraph 8 cites the 2015 General Approval.
Apply on the council site Licence conditions Designation or map
Sources
Mandatory HMO licence
In force
Mandatory HMO licensing (Housing Act 2004 Part 2)
Area
National scheme, applies across the borough.
Fee
£1,608 for 5 years
Base fee £1,608 (£1,509 accredited) plus £25 per household; same as additional.
Who needs one
HMOs occupied by five or more people forming two or more households and sharing facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom or toilet.
Notes
The council publishes its own HMO licensing pages and fee covering both mandatory and additional licensing.
Apply on the council site Licence conditions
Sources
- hounslow.gov.uk: hmo licensing
- hounslow.gov.uk: 2

Article 4 for house shares

Hounslow has an Article 4 direction on houses in multiple occupation. Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission.

Area: Borough-wide except open land, industrial areas, Chiswick Business Park, Bedfont Lakes Business Park and the Mogden Sewage Works
Takes effect: 4 September 2023

Council source

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.

'Civil penalties under the Renters' Rights Act 2025' policy (May 2026), adopted as part of the Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy update to incorporate the RRA at Cabinet on 14 July 2026. Companion documents: Housing enforcement policy July 2026 (https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/downloads/file/14137/housing-enforcement-policy-july-2026) and Supplementary enforcement policy RRA May 2026 (https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/downloads/file/14138/supplementary-enforcement-policy-rra-may-2026). Statutory maximum is £40,000 for licensing offences and £7,000 for listed RRA breaches. Matrix steps: (1) starting point from statutory guidance (council sets its own levels for licence-condition breaches); (2) 'Landlord Type' adjustment of ±20% based on portfolio size, HMO involvement, corporate status and 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). Separate penalties are usually imposed per offence and per offender. The HMO licensing webpage and designation still say financial penalties up to £30,000.

Hounslow's civil penalty policy

Consultations

No consultation was recorded when we researched Hounslow.

Not yet confirmed

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

Not yet confirmed
No selective licensing scheme is in force. The council's Housing Strategy 2025 to 2030 lists an action to 'Investigate introduction of a selective licensing scheme to all of the borough's Private Rented Sector properties', but no consultation was found (https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/strategies-plans-performance/housing-strategy-2025-2030/3).
Not yet confirmed
The HMO licensing page and designation state a £30,000 maximum financial penalty, while the adopted May 2026 civil penalty policy uses £40,000 for licensing offences.
Not yet confirmed
The renewal consultation page (talk.hounslow.gov.uk/hmo-additional-licensing-renewal) now redirects to a login page, so consultation dates were not verified from it.
Not yet confirmed
The designation (made September 2025) cites the 2015 General Approval rather than the General Approval 2024.
Not yet confirmed
Not independently re-checked (verification of 2026-10-14): Cabinet adoption of the Renters' Rights Act enforcement update on 14 July 2026, the 2 September 2025 renewal Cabinet date, and the 31 July 2025 expiry of the previous additional scheme.

Landlord register

Licensing is separate from the national landlord register. Hounslow 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