LetLens / Licensing by council / Havering

Landlord licensing in Havering

Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Havering let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Havering also runs additional HMO licensing and selective licensing, which can bring smaller HMOs, or every private rental, into licensing.

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 Havering 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£1,329 for a 5-bedroom HMOband 1-5 units
WhereEverywhere in Havering, as everywhere in England. Scope, fee schedule and source
What Havering 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 In force
It costs£1,400, the same for an HMO of any size
WhereEverywhere in Havering. 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£950, the same for a rental of any size
Where7 designated wards, not the whole of Havering. 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: part of the council area, see the direction below. 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. Other sizes are priced separately; the full schedules, discounts and surcharges are below.

Most recent source check: 6 August 2026. Each figure below carries the date its own source was read.

Or open RM11 1HJ, a postcode near the centre of Havering, to see what a full report looks like.

Each scheme in detail, and the evidence behind it

Which properties each scheme catches in Havering, 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

Set by national law, not by the council. Any property let to five or more people forming two or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet needs a licence, anywhere in England.

Fee, 5-bed HMO£1,329band 1-5 units

Where it applies: National scheme
Which properties: 5+ occupants, 2+ households sharing amenities

The published fee schedule

Licence term: Up to 5 years
Fee schedule dated: 2026

Fee by number of units
Size	Fee	Part 1 + part 2
1 to 5	£1,329	£1,063 + £266
6 to 9	£1,530.30	£1,224.30 + £306
10 to 14	£1,755.20	£1,404.20 + £351
15 to 19	£1,941.10	£1,553 + £388.10
20 or more	£2,130	£1,704 + £426

Discounts

Multiple dwellings in same building, per dwelling after first licence (from 1 April 2023): £100

Other charges

Paper application surcharge: £117.10
Statutory notice (per notice, plus external expert costs): £609
Caravan site licence: £477.60

Council source · How to apply · read 6 August 2026

Additional HMO licensing In force

A council may extend HMO licensing to smaller HMOs, typically three or four sharers, across all or part of its area.

Licence fee, any size£1,400

Where it applies: Council-wide
Which properties: HMOs occupied by 3 or 4 persons in 2 or more households, not covered by mandatory HMO licensing
Designations in force: London Borough of Havering Designation for Additional Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation No.2 2026
Designation period: 18 March 2026 to 17 March 2031

The published fee schedule

Fee: £1,400
Paid in two parts: £840 on application, then £560 when the licence is granted
Licence term: Up to 5 years
Fee schedule dated: 2026

Discounts

Accredited landlord (Part B only): £100
EPC rating C or above (Part B only): £75
Multiple dwellings in same building, per dwelling after first licence: £100

Council source · Designated area · read 6 August 2026

Selective licensing In force

A council may require a licence for every private rented home in a designated area, whether or not it is an HMO.

Licence fee, any size£950

Where it applies: 7 designated wards
Which properties: Privately rented houses/flats let to a single family or 1-2 unrelated occupants (other residential accommodation)
Designations in force: London Borough of Havering Designation of an Area for Selective Licensing No.2 2026
Designation period: 18 March 2026 to 17 March 2031

London Borough of Havering Designation of an Area for Selective Licensing No.2 2026 covers Beam Park, Harold Wood, Rainham & Wennington, Rush Green & Crowlands, Squirrels Heath, St Alban's, St Edward's.

A designation can cover only part of a named ward, so check the exact address rather than relying on the ward name alone.

The published fee schedule

Fee: £950
Paid in two parts: £570 on application, then £380 when the licence is granted
Licence term: Up to 5 years
Fee schedule dated: 2026

Discounts

Accredited landlord (Part B only): £100
EPC rating C or above (Part B only): £75
Multiple dwellings in same building, per dwelling after first licence: £100

Council source · Designated area · read 6 August 2026

Article 4 and HMO planning permission in Havering In force

2 HMO Article 4 directions are in force in Havering 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 Havering's 5,039 postcodes is inside a designated area.

HMO Article 4 direction, part of the council area, see the direction below

Article 4 Direction Art4/1/2015 - Brooklands, Romford Town, Heaton and Gooshays Wards (HMO)

Area: part of the council area, see the direction below
Right removed: C3 to C4 (small HMO)
Made: 3 November 2015
In force from: 13 July 2016

Council notice or order · Boundary map

HMO Article 4 direction, the whole council area

Article 4 Direction Art4/2/2015 - Whole of Borough except Brooklands, Romford Town, Heaton and Gooshays Wards (HMO)

Area: the whole council area
Right removed: C3 to C4 (small HMO)
Made: 3 November 2015
In force from: 13 July 2016

Council notice or order · Boundary map

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 Havering before you rely on it. Nottingham City Council publishes its version explicitly and is quoted here as a worked example of the approach.

Nottingham City Council, HMO and permitted development. Indicative only, not planning or legal advice.

The research note behind this verdict

Two non-immediate HMO Article 4 Directions, both made 3 Nov 2015 and in force since 13 July 2016 (confirmed in force). Direction 1 (Art4/1/2015) covers the four wards Brooklands, Romford Town, Heaton and Gooshays and removes GPDO Sch2 Part3 Class L (C3->C4 small HMO up to 6 occupiers) for ANY dwelling type. Direction 2 (Art4/2/2015) covers the rest of the borough and removes the C3->C4 right for flats, terraced and semi-detached houses only (detached houses outside the four wards are NOT covered). Combined effect = boroughwide C3->C4 control, hence the recorded area type=boroughwide and the saved GeoJSON is the whole-borough boundary (LAD E09000016, WGS84, from ONS LAD Dec 2023 BFC). CAVEAT on wards_gss: the directions are tied to the PRE-2022 ward boundaries; the codes given are the 2002-2022 GSS codes (Brooklands E05000306 and Romford Town E05000319 confirmed; Heaton E05000308 and Gooshays E05000307 best-match/unverified). Havering reviewed the directions after the May 2022 ward boundary changes and confirmed the direction boundaries were NOT altered, so the direction area remains the fixed pre-2022 physical boundary regardless of current ward codes (current-name equivalents: Gooshays E05013971, Heaton E05013972). Street list not published (area defined by ward/borough polygons, not a street schedule).

Havering Article 4 page · checked 25 July 2026

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 Havering multiplies the exposure rather than capping it.

Sources: Housing Act 2004 s72 · SI 2026/319 · Renters' Rights Act 2025 s103 · Shelter Legal England. Indicative only, not legal advice.

The letting market in Havering

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£772 pcmFrom 522 room listings in Havering.
Median whole-property rent£1,925 pcmFrom 183 whole-property listings.
Typical 4-bed rent£2,889 pcmThe comparison a room-by-room let is measured against.
HMO income premium+34%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£445,000Across 751 sales in 2026, all property types, HM Land Registry.
Gross yield, whole let5.2%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 HMO10.4%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£49,871Mean of net small-area median incomes around the council's main listing areas, not a council-wide median.
Postcodes with flood exposure6.5%330 of 5,039 indexed postcodes.
Postcodes in Flood Zone 3184 (3.7%)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 £70 a month across Havering’s outcodes, so the council-wide median above is a starting point rather than the answer for a particular street.

Median room rent by outcode in Havering
Outcode	Median room rent	Room listings	Check a postcode
RM13	£800 pcm	83	Check RM13
RM1	£800 pcm	69	Check RM1
RM3	£758 pcm	89	Check RM3
RM7	£750 pcm	108	Check RM7
RM12	£730 pcm	64	Check RM12

Postcode districts in Havering

Licensing, Article 4 and the fee all turn on the exact address, because a designated area rarely follows the council boundary. LetLens holds 5,039 Havering 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 Havering?

How much does an HMO licence cost in Havering?

£1,329 for a five-bedroom, five-person HMO under the mandatory scheme, from the council's published fee schedule. Fee basis: band 1-5 units. Larger or smaller properties, and any additional or selective scheme, are priced separately.

Is there an Article 4 direction in Havering?

Which wards in Havering are covered by licensing?

Selective licensing under London Borough of Havering Designation of an Area for Selective Licensing No.2 2026 covers Beam Park, Harold Wood, Rainham & Wennington, Rush Green & Crowlands, Squirrels Heath, St Alban's, St Edward's. 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 Havering?

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 Havering?

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 Havering.

Can I convert a house into a small HMO in Havering 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 Havering, so there is no part of the council where the right still applies.

About Havering

Havering is a local housing authority in London, with a population of about 261,000 and 5,039 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.

Contact Havering

Havering licensing team · [email protected] · 01708 432006