LetLens / Licensing by council / Harrow
Landlord licensing in Harrow
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Harrow let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Harrow also runs selective licensing, which can bring smaller HMOs, or every private rental, into licensing. Harrow's additional HMO licensing designation has run past its end date, so check with the council before assuming no licence is needed: councils re-designate routinely and a renewal reaches us after it is made, not before. A replacement selective licensing designation has already been made and is due to start from 1 September 2026.
The licence you need turns on who lives in the property. Find the line that describes your let.
- Required by national lawThe same in all 296 English councils. Not a Harrow decision.
Your propertyLet to 5 or more people forming 2 or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet
You needMandatory HMO licence In force England-wide
It costs£1,900, the same for an HMO of any size
WhereEverywhere in Harrow, as everywhere in England. Scope, fee schedule and source
- What Harrow requires on topSchemes this council chose to run, and what differs from the council next door.
Your propertyA smaller shared house the national scheme does not reach, typically 3 or 4 sharers forming 2 or more households
You needAdditional HMO licence Lapsed, confirm with the council
WhereNo active designation recorded, not the whole of Harrow. Scope, fee schedule and source
Your propertyLet privately inside a designated area, whether or not it is an HMO
You needSelective licence In force
It costs£786, the same for a rental of any size
Where4 designated wards, not the whole of Harrow. Scope, fee schedule and source
- Planning permission, a separate questionNot licensing. Whether you may create an HMO at all, decided by the council’s planning side.
Your planConverting a house (use class C3) into a small HMO (use class C4)
You needPlanning permission In force
WhereInside the designated area: the whole council area. There is no part of the council outside it. The direction, its dates and its boundary
Each fee is for the example property named on its own line, from the council’s published schedule. The full schedules, discounts and surcharges are below.
Or open HA1 1XL, a postcode near the centre of Harrow, to see what a full report looks like.
What changes next in Harrow
Already decided, not yet in force. A property bought today is bought into these, so they matter more than the current position if you are still choosing.
- Selective licensing designation1 September 2026London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Wealdstone North. Made but not in force yet, so it does not apply today.
- Selective licensing designation1 September 2026London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Wealdstone South. Made but not in force yet, so it does not apply today.
Each scheme in detail, and the evidence behind it
Which properties each scheme catches in Harrow, in the council’s own words, with the designations in force, the whole published fee schedule and the source for every figure. The three regimes can stack: a property can need a licence under one and still be caught by another.
Mandatory HMO licensing In force England-wide
Licence fee, any size£1,900
- Where it applies
- National scheme
- Which properties
- 5+ occupants, 2+ households
The published fee schedule
- Fee
- £1,900
- Paid in two parts
- £1,400 on application, then £500 when the licence is granted
- Renewal
- £1,343.80
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- 2026
Other charges, all 8
- New/material-change application administration fee (component of the 1900 total): £1,400
- Inspection fee (component of every HMO fee): £500
- Renewal (no material change) administration fee (component of the 1343.80 renewal total): £843.80
- Section 257 self-contained-units HMO licence - new application total: £393
- Section 257 new application administration fee (component of the 393): £293
- Section 257 inspection fee (component of every s257 fee): £100
- Section 257 renewal (no material change) total: £278
- Section 257 renewal administration fee (component of the 278): £178
Additional HMO licensing Lapsed, confirm with the council
- Where it applies
- No active designation recorded
- Lapsed
- London Borough of Harrow Designated Area Additional Licensing (Houses in Multiple Occupation) Scheme 2015 (2021 designation)
Selective licensing In force
Licence fee, any size£786
- Where it applies
- 4 designated wards
- Which properties
- All privately rented residential accommodation (single household / non-HMO lets) within the designated Wealdstone map area, unless statutorily exempt
- Designations in force
- London Borough of Harrow Designation of an Area for Selective Licensing 2021 (Wealdstone area)
London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Edgware
London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Greenhill
London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Marlborough
London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Roxeth - Designation period
- 2 September 2021 to 1 September 2026
2 May 2026 to 1 May 2031
6 July 2026 to 5 July 2031
6 July 2026 to 5 July 2031
2 May 2026 to 1 May 2031 - Proposed
- London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Wealdstone North
London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Wealdstone South
London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Edgware covers Edgware.
London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Greenhill covers Greenhill.
London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Marlborough covers Marlborough.
London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Roxeth covers Roxeth.
The published fee schedule
- Fee
- £786
- Paid in two parts
- £686 on application, then £100 when the licence is granted
- Renewal
- £786
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- 2026
Article 4 and HMO planning permission in Harrow In force
An HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Harrow covering the whole council area, so the permitted-development right to convert a house (C3) into a small HMO (C4) has been removed and planning permission is needed there. Every one of Harrow's 4,956 postcodes is inside a designated area.
HMO Article 4 direction, the whole council area
- Area
- the whole council area
- Right removed
- C3 to C4 (small HMO)
- Made
- 12 June 2026
- In force from
- 12 June 2026
- Lapses unless confirmed
- 11 December 2026
A licence is not planning permission
These are two separate consents from two separate parts of the council, and getting one does not give you the other. A licensing team can grant an HMO licence for a property that needed planning permission and never got it.
Where the permission was needed and is missing, the usual consequence lands on the licence. Councils commonly grant a short licence, often twelve months rather than the full term, to give the owner time to apply. If permission is not applied for, is refused, or an appeal fails, the council will generally refuse to extend and let the licence expire, and will generally refuse a fresh application outright once permission has been finally refused. At that point the property cannot lawfully be let as an HMO at all.
This is council practice rather than a statutory rule, and it varies, so confirm it with Harrow before you rely on it. Nottingham City Council publishes its version explicitly and is quoted here as a worked example of the approach.
The research note behind this verdict
What happens if you let without a licence
Letting or managing an unlicensed property that needs a licence is a criminal offence, under section 72 of the Housing Act 2004 for an HMO and section 95 for a property caught by selective licensing. A council can prosecute, or impose a civil penalty instead. For conduct on or after 1 May 2026 that penalty can be up to £40,000 per offence, raised from £30,000 by the Financial Penalties (Housing Offences and Breach of Banning Orders) Regulations 2026. Tenants and the council can also apply for a rent repayment order, which for conduct from the same date can claw back up to two years of rent, up from one, under section 103 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
Both of those maxima apply only to conduct on or after 1 May 2026. Earlier conduct is still judged against the old £30,000 and twelve-month limits. Each breach is normally penalised separately, so an unlicensed portfolio in Harrow multiplies the exposure rather than capping it.
The letting market in Harrow
Licensing is only one side of the sum. These are medians from real listings we have collected, with the number of listings behind each one, because a median over a handful of adverts is a different claim from a median over hundreds.
- Median room rent£820 pcmFrom 591 room listings in Harrow.
- Median whole-property rent£1,689 pcmFrom 198 whole-property listings.
- Typical 4-bed rent£2,739 pcmThe comparison a room-by-room let is measured against.
- HMO income premium+50%Five rooms let individually against one four-bedroom whole-property let, before the extra cost, licensing and voids that come with an HMO.
- Median sale price£570,000Across 349 sales in 2026, all property types, HM Land Registry.
- Gross yield, whole let3.6%Median whole-property rent for a year against the median sale price. Before voids, management, repairs, licensing and finance, all of which a real return has to carry.
- Gross yield, 5-room HMO8.6%Five rooms at the median room rent against the same median sale price. The higher figure is what pays for the licence, the extra management and the higher voids, rather than being profit on top of them.
- Typical household income£55,238Mean of net small-area median incomes around the council's main listing areas, not a council-wide median.
- Postcodes with flood exposure4.4%219 of 4,956 indexed postcodes.
- Postcodes in Flood Zone 3116 (2.3%)The Environment Agency's highest-probability zone. Lenders and insurers ask about this one by name, and it is a subset of the exposure above.
Room rent by outcode
Room rent varies by £50 a month across Harrow’s outcodes, so the council-wide median above is a starting point rather than the answer for a particular street.
| Outcode | Median room rent | Room listings | Check a postcode |
|---|---|---|---|
| HA2 | £850 pcm | 211 | Check HA2 |
| HA5 | £802 pcm | 69 | Check HA5 |
| HA3 | £800 pcm | 208 | Check HA3 |
| HA7 | £800 pcm | 87 | Check HA7 |
Postcode districts in Harrow
Licensing, Article 4 and the fee all turn on the exact address, because a designated area rarely follows the council boundary. LetLens holds 4,956 Harrow postcodes. Open one of its postcode districts to see the verdict, the local rent evidence and the investment model.
Common questions
Do I need an HMO licence in Harrow?
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Harrow let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Harrow also runs selective licensing, which can bring smaller HMOs, or every private rental, into licensing. Harrow's additional HMO licensing designation has run past its end date, so check with the council before assuming no licence is needed: councils re-designate routinely and a renewal reaches us after it is made, not before. A replacement selective licensing designation has already been made and is due to start from 1 September 2026. Selective licensing covers 4 designated wards.
How much does an HMO licence cost in Harrow?
£1,900 under the mandatory scheme, from the council's published fee schedule. The council charges the same whatever the size of the HMO. Any additional or selective scheme is priced separately.
Is there an Article 4 direction in Harrow?
An HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Harrow covering the whole council area, so the permitted-development right to convert a house (C3) into a small HMO (C4) has been removed and planning permission is needed there. Every one of Harrow's 4,956 postcodes is inside a designated area.
Which wards in Harrow are covered by licensing?
Selective licensing under London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Edgware covers Edgware. Selective licensing under London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Greenhill covers Greenhill. Selective licensing under London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Marlborough covers Marlborough. Selective licensing under London Borough of Harrow Designation of an area for Selective Licensing 2026 - Roxeth covers Roxeth. A designation can cover only part of a named ward, so check the exact address rather than relying on the ward name alone.
What is the penalty for letting an unlicensed property in Harrow?
Letting or managing a property that needs a licence without one is a criminal offence under the Housing Act 2004. The council can prosecute or impose a civil penalty, which for conduct on or after 1 May 2026 can be up to £40,000 per offence, raised from £30,000 by the Financial Penalties (Housing Offences and Breach of Banning Orders) Regulations 2026. Tenants or the council can also seek a rent repayment order covering up to two years of rent for conduct from that date, up from one year, under section 103 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Each breach is normally penalised separately. Indicative only, not legal advice.
Do I need planning permission for an HMO in Harrow?
Where an Article 4 direction applies, yes: it removes the permitted-development right to change a house (use class C3) into a small HMO (use class C4), so that change needs a planning application. An HMO for seven or more residents needs permission anywhere, Article 4 or not. Planning is separate from licensing, and a licence does not give you permission. Where permission was needed and not obtained, councils commonly grant a licence for about twelve months rather than the full term, and generally refuse to extend it if permission is not then granted, which leaves the property unable to be let as an HMO. Practice varies by council, so confirm it with Harrow.
Can I convert a house into a small HMO in Harrow without planning permission?
Not inside the Article 4 area. The direction removes the permitted-development right, so a change of use from C3 to C4 needs a planning application. The direction covers the whole of Harrow, so there is no part of the council where the right still applies.
About Harrow
Harrow is a local housing authority in London, with a population of about 252,000 and 4,956 live postcodes indexed by LetLens. It is the licensing authority for every private rented property inside its boundary, and the local planning authority that decides whether an Article 4 direction applies.
Nearby councils
Licensing stops at the council boundary, so a street on the other side of it can carry a different scheme and a different fee.