HMO and selective licensing in Barking and Dagenham Council

Which licence a rented home in Barking and Dagenham needs depends on who lives there.

• Mandatory HMO licensing covers HMOs where 5 or more people live as two or more households.^[28]
• Additional HMO licensing covers HMOs of 3 or more people from two or more households that do not need a mandatory licence, anywhere in the borough. It runs from 9 January 2025 to 8 January 2030.^[18]
• Selective licensing covers privately rented homes let to a single household, in three designated areas that together cover all 19 of the borough's wards. It runs from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2030, and follows an earlier scheme that the council says ended in summer 2024.^[18]

The council says a flat in a purpose-built block or a converted building needs a selective licence when it is let to a single household.^[18]

Homes let by a social landlord, such as a council or housing association, are exempt from selective licensing.^[18]

Whatever Barking and Dagenham designates locally, a large HMO shared by at least five people from more than one household needs a mandatory licence anywhere in England. The property licensing guide sets out the national tests that sit behind every local scheme.^[28]

The three selective licensing areas.^[18]

• Area 1: Alibon, Barking Riverside, Beam, Becontree, Chadwell Heath, Eastbury, Goresbrook, Heath, Longbridge, Mayesbrook, Parsloes, Thames View, Valence, Village and Whalebone wards^[18]
• Area 2: Abbey, Gascoigne and Northbury wards^[18]
• Area 3: Eastbrook and Rush Green ward^[18]

Barking and Dagenham's public register is an online search. It lists every licence issued under the council's schemes, together with any temporary exemption notices and management orders. The council says applications still being processed do not appear on it. A missing entry is a reason to ask the council in writing, not proof of an offence.^[23]

1. Open the public register and search for the address. Property licensing public register (opens in new tab)^[23]
2. Search the exact address. Save a dated screenshot or download of the result. Councils must keep a register of licences, temporary exemption notices and management orders and make it available for inspection.^[29]
3. Ask about applications and exemptions. A missing entry is a reason to investigate, not proof of an offence, so ask whether a licence, application or exemption covered the dates you rented there.^[32]
4. Report or ask in writing. PRPL@lbbd.gov.uk. Call the licensing team on 020 8724 8898, or email PRPL@lbbd.gov.uk, to report a suspected unlicensed home. The council says it protects reporters' identities.^[23] Ask for a reference number and keep the reply.

Barking and Dagenham publishes standards for HMOs and condition guidance for single-household homes. Its guidance for single-household homes says a licensed home should have:

• no damp, mould or pest infestation
• a working smoke alarm on each floor
• a way out that does not pass through the kitchen
• bedrooms of at least the minimum size for the people sleeping in them
• safe gas and electrical equipment, and an Energy Performance Certificate
• the tenant's deposit protected in a government-approved scheme^[25]

• National conditions are the floor. Every licence carries the prescribed conditions on gas, electrics, alarms, tenancy terms and waste, and can last up to five years; the property licensing guide lists them in full.^[30]
• Compare the licence with reality. The register entry or licence may identify the manager, the permitted occupancy and property-specific conditions. Check those details against how the home is actually occupied and managed.
• Keep separate evidence of hazards. A licence does not establish continuing compliance. Report disrepair or an immediate safety risk separately, and keep photographs, messages and certificates.

Two dates decide which periods of a tenancy the local schemes can cover: 9 January 2025 for HMOs outside mandatory licensing, and 6 April 2025 for single-household lets in the selective areas. Most larger HMOs have needed a mandatory licence all along. The register updates as licences are issued, so save a dated copy of your search.^[18][23]

1. Confirm the scheme and dates. Match the address, occupancy and rental period to the designation in force at the time.
2. Ask the council in writing. PRPL@lbbd.gov.uk. Ask Barking and Dagenham Council whether an effective application or temporary exemption existed and when it took effect.^[23]
3. Check the legal position. An application, an exemption, a reasonable excuse or the identity of the person legally responsible (the "person managing or controlling" the property) can all affect whether an offence is proved.^[32]
4. Preserve the evidence. Keep the tenancy, rent payments, proof of occupation, dated searches and council correspondence.

For a licensing offence committed on or after the 1 May 2026 rule change, a tenant can ask the First-tier Tribunal for up to two years' rent, and normally has two years from the offence to apply. The tenant must prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt, and the tribunal decides any award from the statutory factors and evidence; recovery is never automatic.^[33] Older offence periods may be governed by earlier limits. Free housing advice is available from Shelter and Citizens Advice, and local law centres can help with tribunal cases.