Applying for an HMO licence in Hackney?
First-time HMO landlord, or just unsure where to start? Hackney's new Additional and Selective Licensing schemes went live on 1 May 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 Hackney property needs a licence? Most do.Hackney's new Additional scheme covers smaller HMOs (3 or 4 sharers) borough-wide. The Selective scheme covers single-family lets in 17 wards. If you're renting out in Hackney 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 Hackney Licence Applies to You?
Hackney 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, predates the new Hackney designations and continues alongside them.
£950 application fee (£875 accredited)Additional
Hackney's new borough-wide scheme. Required for any HMO of 3 or 4 people from 2+ households. Section 257 buildings (purpose-converted self-contained flats) are the only exemption.
£1,400 application feeSelective
Required for single-household lets in 17 designated wards regardless of tenant count. If your tenants form one household, this is the licence you need.
£925 application feeFor the new Additional and Selective schemes, Hackney offers a £100 discount for accredited landlords (e.g. London Landlord Accreditation Scheme) and a further £50 discount for properties with an EPC rating of A–C. Mandatory HMO licences carry a separate £75 accredited-landlord discount.
The Hackney Reset, in Numbers.
Hackney's previous additional licensing scheme ended in September 2023 — leaving a 32-month gap during which only mandatory HMO licensing was in force. The new schemes, approved by Cabinet on 24 November 2025 and made under Part 2 (additional) and Part 3 (selective) of the Housing Act 2004, have closed that gap and significantly expanded the cohort.
How We De-Risk Your Application.
Hackney's licensing team will inspect your property at some point during the licence period. The cost of getting things wrong — conditions attached, a refusal, or worse, an enforcement visit — 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 Hackney'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 Hackney's portal. Includes plan annotation, document collation and direct liaison with Hackney's property licensing team at Hillman Street.
Get a quoteCommon Hackney HMO Setups.
Hackney's housing stock is unusually varied. The licence conditions are the same borough-wide, but the issues we find — and the things council inspectors focus on — depend a lot on what kind of building you've got.
Stoke Newington & ClaptonN16 · E5
Large Victorian terraces converted into bedsit-HMOs or shared houses. Common issues: protected escape routes through the kitchen, original lath-and-plaster ceilings failing 30-minute fire resistance, sash windows below the minimum opening for habitable room ventilation, and bedrooms below the national HMO sleeping room minimum of 6.51 m².
Hackney Downs & Lower ClaptonE5 · E8
Edwardian and inter-war terraces let to professional sharers. Typical findings: outdated EICRs, mains-wired interlinked smoke alarms missing on landings, and inadequate amenity ratios where a 6-person let only has one bathroom.
Dalston & London FieldsE8
Flats above commercial premises and converted shop-uppers. The fire separation between commercial ground floor and residential above is usually the licence-defining issue, alongside means of escape where the only exit passes through the shop's lease boundary.
De Beauvoir & HoxtonN1
Period conversions into self-contained flats and small HMOs. Section 257 buildings (purpose-converted into self-contained flats) are exempt from additional licensing but a flat occupied by 3+ people from 2+ households still requires a licence in its own right.
Hackney Wick & HomertonE9
Newer-build apartments and warehouse conversions, often professionally managed. Issues are less about physical condition and more about documentation: management arrangements, tenancy agreements, and accurate occupancy declarations.
Questions Hackney Landlords Are Asking.
My property is in one of the 4 wards not covered by selective licensing. Am I in the clear?
Only if you're letting to a single household. The additional HMO scheme covers all 21 wards — so any HMO of 3+ people from 2+ households still needs a licence regardless of which Hackney ward it's in. The four-ward exclusion only relates to the selective (single-household) scheme.
I had a Hackney additional licence under the old scheme. Does it carry over?
No. The previous additional licensing scheme closed in September 2023 and the new scheme is a fresh designation under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004. Your old licence does not transfer. You need to make a new application under the May 2026 scheme.
What's the actual cost difference between accredited and non-accredited?
For the new Additional and Selective schemes, Hackney offers a £100 discount on the application fee for landlords accredited under a recognised scheme such as the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme, plus a further £50 discount where the property has an EPC rating of A–C. Combined, that's a £150 reduction on a £1,400 additional HMO licence or a £925 selective licence. The mandatory HMO scheme has a separate £75 accredited-landlord discount. Worth applying for accreditation before submission if you don't already hold it.
Can I just apply and let the council inspection tell me what's wrong?
You can, but the cost of doing it that way is high. If the inspecting officer finds serious hazards or significant non-compliance, the council can attach conditions to the licence (legally enforceable works with deadlines), refuse the licence, or issue an Improvement Notice in parallel. An independent inspection beforehand lets you fix issues on your own timeline at your own cost, rather than under enforcement pressure.
My tenants moved in before 1 May 2026. Does the scheme still apply to me?
Yes. Property licensing is an obligation on the property and the landlord, not on the tenancy. If your property was in scope as of 1 May 2026 and remains let on or after that date, you needed to have applied. Applications opened on 1 March 2026 to give landlords two months' lead time.
Do you work with letting agents managing Hackney HMOs?
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.