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John Grants
Landlord guide

Do you need a licence to let?

Mandatory, additional and selective licensing explained, with what Enfield, Haringey and Waltham Forest each currently require and where to check your address.

What type of property is it?

On this page

At a glance

  • There are three kinds of licence: mandatory HMO (five or more people from more than one household), additional HMO and selective licensing, and councils decide the last two.[1][2][3]
  • In Enfield, selective licensing started on 1 September 2026 in 17 wards, including Edmonton Green, Upper Edmonton and Lower Edmonton, and a borough-wide additional HMO scheme has run since 1 September 2025.[4][5]
  • Haringey and Waltham Forest also run their own schemes, with different areas, rules and fees.[6][7]
  • Letting without a required licence can mean an unlimited fine or a civil penalty of up to £40,000 for offences from 1 May 2026, and tenants can claim up to two years’ rent back.[8][9]
  • Always check your exact address on the council’s own page, because boundaries are by ward and sometimes by street.

Rules and figures last checked October 2026.

The three kinds of licence

Which one applies depends on how many people live in the property and where it is. A property that needs an HMO licence does not also need a selective one.[4]

Types of licence
LicenceWho decidesWhen it applies
Mandatory HMONational lawFive or more people forming more than one household, sharing a toilet, bathroom or kitchen. This has not changed.[1][10]
Additional HMOThe council, for its whole area or part of itSmaller HMOs the council has chosen to cover, after consulting. It must consider that a significant proportion are being managed sufficiently ineffectively.[2]
SelectiveThe council, for its whole area or part of itOther privately rented homes in an area with low housing demand or a significant and persistent antisocial behaviour problem, after consulting.[3]

Enfield

This covers Edmonton, Enfield, Southgate, Palmers Green, Ponders End, Winchmore Hill, Oakwood, Cockfosters and Bush Hill Park. Enfield Council runs all three kinds of licence.

Enfield Council’s schemes

Selective licensing
From 1 September 2026, 17 wards
Additional HMO
Borough-wide since 1 September 2025
Mandatory HMO
Five or more people, more than one household
Selective licence fee
£750, in two parts

The selective scheme covers privately rented homes let to one or two people, or a single family, in these wards.[4]

  • 13 wards: Bowes, Brimsdown, Bullsmoor, Carterhatch, Edmonton Green, Enfield Lock, Haselbury, Jubilee, Lower Edmonton, Ponders End, Southbury, Upper Edmonton and Whitewebbs.
  • 4 wards: New Southgate, Palmers Green, Southgate and Town.

Fees are set by the council and change, so check before you apply. At the time of reading, a selective licence cost £750 (£450 when you apply and £300 when the draft licence is issued), with discounts of £50 for approved accreditation, £100 for an EPC of band C or above, and £100 for each additional flat in the same building from the second.[4] Applications are made online through the council, and the council aims to process them within 60 working days.[4]

For HMOs, the mandatory licence fee was £1,616 for up to five lettable rooms plus £181.50 for each extra room, and the additional HMO licence was £1,450. Enfield also has a borough-wide Article 4 Direction, so an HMO needs planning consent or proven established use as well as a licence.[5]

Haringey

This covers Tottenham and Wood Green.

  • Selective licensing has been in force since 17 November 2022 for five years and ends on 17 November 2027. It covers homes let to a single household or two unrelated sharers in 14 wards: Bounds Green, Bruce Castle, Harringay, Hermitage and Gardens, Noel Park, Northumberland Park, Seven Sisters, South Tottenham, St Ann’s, Tottenham Central, Tottenham Hale, West Green, White Hart Lane and Woodside.[6] The fee was £705.84.[11]
  • Additional HMO licensing applies across the whole borough from 17 June 2024 to 16 June 2029, to HMOs that do not need a mandatory licence.[12] The fee was £1,411.68, plus £50 for each unit above five.[13]

See the council’s selective licensing page (opens in a new tab) to check an address, and our guides to Tottenham and Wood Green.

Waltham Forest

This covers Walthamstow and Chingford.

  • Selective licensing is not borough-wide. The current scheme began on 1 May 2025 and runs to 30 April 2030. It covers homes let to a single family or two sharers in most wards, but a small number of wards, in the Chingford and Highams Park area, are excluded, and three or more unrelated tenants there need an HMO licence instead. The fee was £895.[7][14][15]
  • Additional HMO licensing is borough-wide, started in April 2025, and the fee was £1,200. Because the council’s own pages give slightly different details of the occupancy threshold and end date, check the council’s additional HMO page (opens in a new tab) rather than relying on a summary.[16]

Our guides to Walthamstow and Chingford cover the neighbourhoods.

Waltham Cross, Cheshunt, Buckhurst Hill and Cuffley

These fall under Broxbourne Borough Council, Epping Forest District Council and Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. Each council’s landlord pages describe mandatory HMO licensing, and we found no selective or additional licensing scheme on them, but none of the pages states that no scheme exists. Check the relevant council before you let.[17][18][19]

Our guides to Waltham Cross, Cheshunt, Buckhurst Hill and Cuffley cover those areas.

What happens if you let without a licence

The consequences

Prosecution
Unlimited fine
Civil penalty
Up to £40,000
Rent repayment order
Up to 2 years’ rent

Renting out an unlicensed HMO can lead to an unlimited fine.[1] The maximum civil penalty is £40,000 for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026 (£30,000 before), and the government’s starting points are £17,000 for an unlicensed mandatory or additional HMO and £12,000 for an unlicensed selective-licence property.[8] A council can use a penalty or prosecute for the same offence, but not both. Tenants can also apply for a rent repayment order of up to two years’ rent for offences committed after 1 May 2026.[9]

What to do next

  1. 1

    Count the people and the households

    How many will live there, and are they one family or separate households? That decides which type of licence to look at.

  2. 2

    Check your address with the council

    Use the council’s own checker or map, because boundaries are by ward and a neighbouring street can be different.

  3. 3

    Apply before you let

    Councils take weeks to process applications (Enfield aims for 60 working days), so allow time before the tenancy starts.

  4. 4

    Tell us at your valuation

    When you ask for a free rental valuation, mention whether the property is shared. For how the other landlord rules fit together, see our landlord legislation guide.

Sources

Every figure and rule above comes from one of these, read in October 2026. The dates are the ones each publisher shows as when the page was last updated.

  1. [1]House in multiple occupation licence (opens in a new tab)GOV.UK
  2. [2]Housing Act 2004, section 56: designation of areas subject to additional licensing (opens in a new tab)legislation.gov.uk
  3. [3]Housing Act 2004, section 80: designation of selective licensing areas (opens in a new tab)legislation.gov.uk
  4. [4]Selective licensing scheme (opens in a new tab)Enfield Council · page updated 8 October 2026
  5. [5]Houses in multiple occupation (opens in a new tab)Enfield Council · page updated 8 September 2026
  6. [6]Selective property licensing (opens in a new tab)Haringey Council
  7. [7]Property licensing schemes (opens in a new tab)Waltham Forest Council
  8. [8]Civil penalties under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and other housing legislation (opens in a new tab)GOV.UK (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) · page updated 13 November 2025 (published)
  9. [9]Rent repayment orders: guidance for tenants (opens in a new tab)GOV.UK
  10. [10]The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (England) Order 2018, article 4 (opens in a new tab)legislation.gov.uk
  11. [11]Selective property licensing fees and discounts (opens in a new tab)Haringey Council
  12. [12]Additional licensing of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) (opens in a new tab)Haringey Council
  13. [13]HMO licensing fees and licence periods (opens in a new tab)Haringey Council
  14. [14]Check if you need a selective licence for your property (opens in a new tab)Waltham Forest Council · page updated 11 September 2026
  15. [15]Check how much a property licence costs (opens in a new tab)Waltham Forest Council · page updated 11 September 2026
  16. [16]Check if you need an additional HMO licence (opens in a new tab)Waltham Forest Council · page updated 11 September 2026
  17. [17]Private renting and landlords (opens in a new tab)Broxbourne Borough Council
  18. [18]Houses of multiple occupation (opens in a new tab)Epping Forest District Council
  19. [19]Apply for a house in multiple occupation licence (opens in a new tab)Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council

This is a general guide to the rules in England, not legal or tax advice. Your own circumstances, and your lease or mortgage terms, may change what applies, so check the sources below or speak to a solicitor or accountant before you act.

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