Between 24 August and 1 September 2026, five London boroughs switch on new property licensing schemes. It is the busiest fortnight for landlord licensing in years, and if you let property in Hillingdon, Westminster, Croydon, Enfield or Harrow, at least one of these schemes probably applies to you. Here is what starts, what it costs, and what to do about it.

Hillingdon: borough-wide additional licensing from 24 August

Hillingdon’s new additional licensing scheme covers almost every HMO in the borough from 24 August 2026, running for five years. If three or more unrelated people share your property, it now needs a licence even if it fell outside the old mandatory rules. The fee is £1,401 per property, payable in two instalments, with a 10% discount for accredited landlords. Applications opened in May and were due in by 23 August, so if you have missed that window, apply immediately rather than waiting to be found.

Westminster: renewed HMO licensing from 31 August

Westminster already runs a selective licensing scheme across 15 of its 18 wards, at £995 per property, covering ordinary single-household lets. On 31 August 2026 its renewed borough-wide additional HMO licensing scheme takes effect, running to 2031. Between the two schemes, very little privately rented property in Westminster now sits outside licensing altogether.

Croydon: selective licensing across 14 wards from 1 September

The biggest of the five by property count. From 1 September 2026 Croydon’s selective licensing scheme covers 14 of the borough’s 28 wards, roughly 72% of its private rented sector and more than 53,000 homes. A five-year licence costs around £800. If your property sits in an affected ward, an ordinary buy-to-let that has never needed a licence before needs one now.

Enfield: new 17-ward selective scheme from 1 September

Enfield replaces its existing selective licensing scheme with a new five-year designation covering 17 wards, including Edmonton, Ponders End, Palmers Green and Southgate. The licence is expected to cost around £755, slightly up from the current £735.

Harrow: Wealdstone licensing rolls over on 1 September

Harrow’s original Wealdstone selective scheme, in place since 2021, ends on 1 September 2026 and is immediately replaced by new designations for Wealdstone North and Wealdstone South, at around £786 per property. This is the latest step in a ward-by-ward expansion: Edgware and Roxeth came under licensing in May, Greenhill and Marlborough in July. One thing to watch in Harrow: the borough’s additional HMO licensing scheme ended on 5 August 2026 and no renewal has been confirmed, so the picture for shared houses is genuinely in flux.

And three more boroughs are consulting right now

The wave does not stop in September. Barnet is consulting until 15 September on a selective scheme covering ten wards. Ealing is consulting until 24 September on what replaces its current schemes, which expire in 2027. Greenwich is consulting until 12 October on extending selective licensing across 18 wards. If you let property in any of these boroughs, the sensible assumption is that licensing is coming, not that it is not.

What happens if you ignore it

Letting a licensable property without a licence is a criminal offence. Councils can issue civil penalties of up to £40,000 per offence without going to court, and tenants or the council can claim back up to two years of rent through a rent repayment order. Enforcement teams work from council tax records, benefit data and tenant complaints, and the boroughs that invest in big licensing schemes do so intending to enforce them.

What to do this week

First, check which ward your property is in and whether one of these schemes covers it; the council’s own postcode checkers are the reliable source. Second, if a licence is needed, apply before the start date, because applying late is treated very differently from not applying at all. Third, factor the fee and the licence conditions into your numbers for the next five years.

Or hand the whole thing over. With a SmartSpace guaranteed rent agreement we take the property on for five to ten years, deal with the licensing and compliance across every borough we operate in, and pay you a fixed rent each month whether the property is occupied or not, with no commission. We track every one of these 32 borough licensing regimes so you do not have to. Arrange a free valuation and we will tell you exactly what your property would earn, licence admin included.