Your Licensing update for July

In our licensing blog this month, we round up all the latest licensing consultations and share details on how to respond, as well as outlining new schemes coming into force across the country.

Schemes coming into force

Westminster City Council - Additional Licensing

The council has confirmed its borough-wide additional licensing scheme will be renewed, coming into force on 31st August and ending on 30th August 2031.

The licence fee is £1,540, with discounts available for accredited landlords. Existing additional HMO licences will remain valid until their individual expiry dates and landlords can submit renewal applications up to three months before this date. Applications for new licences can be made immediately.

Further information about the scheme and where to apply can be found on the council's website or by emailing [email protected]

London Borough of Hillingdon - Additional Licensing

The council has confirmed that a borough-wide additional licensing scheme will come into force on 24th August, ending on 23rd August 2031.

The council has excluded section 257 HMOs from the scheme. This relates to properties that have been converted into flats, where two thirds of the flats are owner-occupied, or where the conversion did not comply with the relevant building regulations at the time - and still does not. The licence fee is £1,401 per property, with the application process already open.

Further information about the scheme and where to apply can be found on the council's website.

London Borough of Croydon - Selective and Additional Licensing

The  council has approved a borough-wide additional licensing scheme and a selective licensing scheme which covers part of the borough.

Areas covered by the selective licensing scheme are:

• Addiscombe East
• Addiscombe West
• Bensham Manor
• Broad Green
• Fairfield
• Norbury and Pollards Hill
• Norbury Park
• Selhurst
• South Croydon
• South Norwood
• Thornton Heath
• Waddon
• West Thornton
• Woodside

The licence fee is £800 for a selective licence and £1,250 for an additional licence. Discounts are available for accredited landlords.

Both schemes come into force on 1st September. More information on how to apply will be available this summer and further information can be found on the council's website.

London Borough of Enfield - Selective Licensing

The local authority  has renewed its selective licensing scheme which will come into force on 1st September and end on 31st August 2031.

The council has divided the borough into two designations with the new scheme to  come into force on the same date. Areas covered by the selective licensing scheme are:

Designation One:

• Bowes
• Brimsdown
• Bullsmoor
• Carterhatch
• Edmonton Green
• Enfield Lock
• Haselbury
• Jubilee
• Lower Edmonton
• Ponders End
• Southbury
• Upper Edmonton
• Whitewebbs

Designation Two:

• New Southgate
• Palmers Green
• Southgate Town

The licence fee is £750 per property. Current selective licences will remain in force until their existing expiry date. Further information about the scheme can be found on the council's website.

London Borough of Harrow

Following consultation, the council has approved several selective licensing schemes which cover parts of the borough:

• Greenhill selective licensing designation comes into force on 6th July and ends on 5th July 2031.
• Marlborough selective licensing designation comes into force on 6th July and ends on 5th July 2031.
• Wealdstone North selective licensing designation comes into force on 1st September and ends on 31st August 2031.
• Wealdstone South selective licensing designation comes into force on 1 September and ends on 31 August 2031.

The licence fee is £786 per property. Further information about the schemes can be found on the council's website or by emailing [email protected]

Active Consultations

Durham County Council

The council is consulting on a new selective licensing scheme for PRS properties in Durham. The proposed scheme will cover 38% of the estimated PRS in the local authority area.

The council is proposing to introduce selective licensing schemes for all PRS properties in 87 postcodes. You can find out if your postcode is included by visiting the consultation webpage.

The proposed fees are:

• An early bird fee of £550 if a licence is applied for within the first six months of the scheme.
• A standard fee of £700 if a licence is applied for after the first six months of the scheme.

The consultation closes on 12th August.

London Borough of Barnet

The borough is consulting on a new selective licensing scheme for PRS properties in Barnet. The council is proposing to introduce selective licensing schemes for all PRS properties in the following wards:

• Burnt Oak
• Childs Hill
• Colindale North
• Colindale South
• Cricklewood
• Finchley Church End
• Friern Barnet
• Golders Green
• Hendon
• West Hendon

The indicative fee proposed is £910 per property, reviewed annually and subject to inflationary increases. Further information about the scheme, consultation meetings, and to have your say, please visit Barnet's consultation website.

The consultation closes on 15th September.

Cornwall Council

The council is reviewing its mandatory HMO licence fees, saying the proposed fee has been recalculated to ensure it remains fair, transparent and proportionate, and reflects only the work required to process and monitor HMO licences.

The current licence fee is £1,481.04 for new licences and £1,100.77 at renewal.

The proposed fees for a new licence are determined by number of rooms in a property:

• Five rooms - £1,957
• Six to eight rooms - £2,062
• Nine to ten or more rooms - £2,167

The proposed fees for a renewal licence are as follows:

• Five rooms - £1,859
• Six to eight rooms - £1,964
• Nine to ten or more rooms - £2,069

To learn more about the proposals and to have your say, please visit Cornwall Council's consultation website.

The consultation closes at noon on 17th July.