Applying for an HMO licence in Havering?
First-time HMO landlord, or just unsure where to start? Havering's new Additional and Selective Licensing schemes came into force on 18 March 2026 — and most rented properties in the borough now need a licence. We'll inspect your property before you apply, tell you exactly what needs fixing, and (if you'd like) submit the licence application for you. Inspections from £199, licence applications from £295. No jargon, no surprises.
Not sure if your Havering property needs a licence? Most do.Havering's new Additional scheme covers smaller HMOs (3 or 4 sharers) borough-wide. The Selective scheme covers single-family lets in 7 wards. If you're renting out in Havering and you don't yet have a licence, you may already be operating unlicensed — with fines up to £40,000 and tenants able to claim back up to 24 months' rent. Get clarity before the council finds you.
Which Havering Licence Applies to You?
Havering has multiple HMO licensing schemes running at the same time, and which one applies depends on how many people live in the property and where it sits in the borough. The table below explains each in plain English. Not sure where you fit? Send us the address and number of occupants on WhatsApp — we'll tell you in 5 minutes.
Mandatory
Required where 5 or more people from 2+ households share. National scheme. The fee scales by number of lettings — small mandatory HMOs are at the lower end, larger ones (20+ lettings) at the upper end.
£1,329 – £2,130 application feeAdditional
Havering's new borough-wide scheme. Required for any HMO of 3 or 4 unrelated people sharing facilities. Section 257 buildings (purpose-converted blocks of flats failing 1991 Building Regs) are uniquely included in Havering's scheme if all units are privately rented and in single ownership.
£1,400 application feeSelective
Required for single-household lets and two-sharer lets in seven designated wards regardless of tenant count. Paid in two instalments: £570 Part A on application, £380 Part B on grant.
£950 application feeFor the new Additional and Selective schemes, Havering offers a £100 discount for accredited landlords (deducted from Part B on the selective fee) and a £75 discount for properties with an EPC rating of C or above. The Mandatory HMO scheme has no accredited-landlord discount.
The Havering Reset, in Numbers.
Havering's previous additional and selective schemes expired on 24 January 2026, leaving a 53-day gap during which only mandatory HMO licensing was in force. Applications under the new schemes opened on 25 January 2026 — one day after the old schemes ended — and the new schemes came into force on 18 March 2026 with significantly expanded scope.
How We De-Risk Your Application.
Havering's licensing team will inspect your property at some point during the licence period. The cost of getting things wrong — conditions attached, refusal, or a £40,000 civil penalty — significantly outweighs the cost of an independent inspection beforehand. Our work is to identify what they will identify, before they do.
On-site inspection by an EHO. Full report against Havering's licence conditions: fire safety (LACORS), room sizes, amenity provision, electrical and gas safety, and management standards. You get a prioritised action list, not a generic checklist.
Get a quoteWe complete and submit your Additional, Selective or Mandatory HMO licence application via Havering's portal. Includes plan annotation, document collation (Gas Safety, EICR, EPC, Floorplan) and direct liaison with the council's landlord licensing team.
Get a quoteCommon Havering HMO Setups.
Havering's housing stock leans suburban — a mix of inter-war semis, post-war estate housing now in private hands, and older Victorian/Edwardian terraces in the historic town centres. The licence conditions are the same borough-wide, but the issues we find depend a lot on what kind of building you've got.
Romford Town CentreRM1 · RM7
Victorian and Edwardian terraces near Romford station converted to bedsit-HMOs and shared houses, often above shops on South Street. Common issues: fire separation between commercial ground floor and residential above, single staircase escape with no protected route, and undersized bedrooms below the national HMO sleeping room minimum of 6.51 m².
Rush Green & CrowlandsRM7
Inter-war and post-war terraced housing, much of it ex-council stock now in private rental. Typical findings: outdated EICRs on original wiring, mains-wired interlinked smoke alarms missing, and properties that have been let as single-family homes for decades now letting to 3-4 sharers without recognising they've become HMOs in scope.
Harold WoodRM3
Mix of inter-war estate housing and newer apartment developments. The newer flats often have professional management but missing documentation; the older houses tend to have legacy wiring and gas systems that haven't been updated to current EICR/Gas Safe standards.
Rainham & WenningtonRM13
Mixed housing including former workers' cottages near the industrial estates, and post-war terraces. Common issues include damp in older Thames-side stock, ventilation in undersized kitchens, and amenity ratios where 5+ person lets share a single bathroom.
Hornchurch & UpminsterRM11 · RM12 · RM14
Inter-war suburban semis being let to professional sharers. Issues are usually less about physical condition and more about classification: what looked like a single-family let with an extra friend may now be in scope for additional licensing, and most landlords haven't realised.
Questions Havering Landlords Are Asking.
Which 7 Havering wards are in the new selective licensing scheme?
Beam Park, Harold Wood, Rainham and Wennington, Rush Green and Crowlands, Squirrels Heath, St Alban's, and St Edwards. If your single-household let or two-sharer let is in any of these seven wards, it requires a selective licence. The other thirteen wards do not have selective licensing — but the additional HMO scheme covers all 20 wards borough-wide.
I had an additional HMO licence under Havering's old scheme. Does it transfer to the new one?
No. The previous Havering schemes expired on 24 January 2026 and the new schemes are fresh designations under the Housing Act 2004. Your old licence does not transfer. Applications opened on 25 January 2026 and the schemes went live on 18 March 2026 — if you haven't applied yet, you are operating unlicensed and should apply straight away.
Why is my Section 257 building in scope in Havering when other boroughs exempt them?
Havering is one of a small number of London boroughs to include Section 257 HMOs (purpose-converted blocks of flats where the conversion didn't comply with the 1991 Building Regulations) in the additional licensing scheme. They only require an additional licence if all accommodation units are privately rented AND the building and units are in the same ownership. Mixed-tenure buildings or split-ownership conversions are exempt.
What's the actual saving for accredited Havering landlords?
On the new Additional and Selective schemes, Havering offers a £100 accredited landlord discount and a £75 EPC C+ discount. Combined, that's £175 off — bringing a £1,400 additional licence down to £1,225 or a £950 selective licence down to £775. The mandatory HMO licence (£1,329-£2,130 by lettings count) does not have an accreditation discount.
I applied for a Havering licence after 18 March 2026. Am I in trouble?
Submitting a licence application doesn't make you compliant — it makes you a duty-holder under the new scheme. Until the licence is issued, you are technically operating unlicensed. The civil penalty for unlicensed operation in Havering is up to £40,000 per property, plus exposure to a Rent Repayment Order of up to 24 months rent under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. The faster you can demonstrate the property meets standards, the faster the licence completes — that's where an independent inspection helps.
Do you work with Havering letting agents managing HMO portfolios?
Yes — we work with letting agents and managing agents handling HMO portfolios. If you'd value an independent third-party compliance check rather than relying on your team's own walkthrough, get in touch about volume arrangements.