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Council licensing · London

Licensing in Kingston upon Thames

Kingston upon Thames has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.

Researched 14 October 2026 · Independently checked 14 October 2026

Check a specific address in Kingston upon Thames

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 only19

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 force

    Mandatory HMO licensing (Housing Act 2004 Part 2)

    Area

    National scheme, applies across the borough.

    Fee

    £319 for 5 years

    Fee per letting: £319.40 per letting for a new licence; £250 per letting to renew. Discounts: £100 for members of an approved accreditation scheme such as UKLAP (new applications only); 50% for registered charities (new and renewal). A renewal not received before the current licence expires is charged the full new-application fee, and a £300 penalty fee may also apply. No fee for variations unless adding rooms. No refunds. standard_gbp is per letting. Page shows no update date.

    Who needs one
    HMOs with 5 or more people forming 2 or more households and sharing facilities. The council says purpose-built blocks with more than 3 flats do not require a licence but may still be HMOs that must meet fire and amenity standards.
    Exemptions
    Resident landlords may have up to 2 lodgers before the property is classed as an HMO. Temporary exemption of up to 6 months is available when reducing occupiers below the licensing threshold.
    Notes
    Kingston operates no additional or selective licensing scheme. The council's HMO page says 'You'll only need a licence if your property has 5 or more people forming 2 or more households and sharing facilities.' Habitable basements, lofts and converted commercial spaces count as storeys. Council HMO standards (December 2023): https://www.kingston.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-07/HMO_Standards__RBK__December_2023.pdf. An earlier borough-wide additional HMO scheme was approved in 2012; it ended long before the last 12 months. In officers' comments on the February 2026 HMO motion, the council noted that a discretionary small-HMO licensing scheme could be consulted on and set up in about 9 months if members wanted it. No such proposal was found.
    Apply on the council site

    Sources

Article 4 for house shares

We found no Article 4 direction on house shares in Kingston upon Thames.

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.

Annex B 'Civil Penalties under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and other housing Legislation Policy' (June 2026), approved with the Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy 2026-31 by People Committee on 23 June 2026, effective 8 July 2026 (https://moderngov.kingston.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=5567). Statutory maximum is £40,000 for Housing Act 2004 licensing offences. Matrix: starting point by offence seriousness (statutory guidance); 'Landlord Type' adjustment of ±20%; mitigating and aggravating factors up to ±20% of the starting point; financial considerations; totality. Failure to obtain an HMO licence (s72(1)) starts at £17,000 (£13,600 down, £20,400 up). Failure to comply with an overcrowding notice starts at £20,000. The council's HMO enforcement webpage has not been updated: it still says civil penalties are 'up to £30,000 per offence', 'determined on a case by case basis', and links the 2017 Kingston and Sutton Shared Environment Service Enforcement Policy.

Kingston upon Thames's civil penalty policy

Consultations

No consultation was recorded when we researched Kingston upon Thames.

Not yet confirmed

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

  • Not yet confirmed

    Article 4: no HMO Article 4 Direction is in force. The council's list covers only Seething Wells Filter Beds, commercial/business/service to residential, and North Lodge and South Lodge. Full Council (October 2025) and the Place Committee motion of 5 February 2026 instructed officers to continue work on a borough-wide small-HMO Article 4 Direction and report back within nine months. Officers said the work is unlikely to start until early 2027 under current resourcing, and would likely be non-immediate with a 12-month lead-in. Not independently re-checked (verification of 2026-10-14): the Full Council (October 2025) and Place Committee (5 February 2026) motions.

  • Not yet confirmed

    The HMO enforcement webpage still states a £30,000 maximum and links a 2017 policy, while the adopted June 2026 civil penalty policy uses £40,000.

  • Not yet confirmed

    Licence conditions are not published as a standalone document. The council publishes HMO standards and attaches conditions to individual licences.

Landlord register

Licensing is separate from the national landlord register. Kingston upon Thames 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