Barnet: check the live licensing position before letting
Barnet's property-licensing pages were protected by an access challenge during the latest review, so the current local scheme, fees, boundaries and penalties could not be independently verified. A consultation page is not proof of an operative selective scheme. Treat this guide as a verification prompt, not as confirmation that an address is licensed or exempt.
The council page could not be checked
Barnet's official property-licensing page returned an Incapsula access challenge during the latest review. That means the current mandatory and additional HMO rules, selective-licensing boundaries, fees, licence terms and application route are UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. Contact the council or use the live property-licensing service before granting or renewing a tenancy.
A consultation is not a designation
The council has an official selective-licensing consultation page, but consultation or proposal material cannot be treated as an operative designation. Do not tell a landlord that a whole Barnet ward needs a selective licence, or that no area does, until the final designation and address checker are available.
Start with the national HMO question
As a national baseline, mandatory licensing generally concerns HMOs occupied by five or more people from more than one household sharing facilities. Barnet's current application of that rule, any additional scheme and any local exemptions remain UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. Count households and occupants, then obtain the council's answer for the property.
Use the register carefully
Barnet's official open-data site provides an HMO-register entry point, but the current dataset contents and update status were not independently verified during this review. A missing search result is not evidence that a property is unlicensed, and a historic record is not evidence that a licence remains live.
Keep the universal landlord file ready
Every Barnet tenancy still needs annual gas safety, a five-yearly EICR, a valid EPC, deposit protection within 30 days, Right to Rent checks, working smoke and CO alarms and the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet. Current Barnet penalties, Temporary Exemption Notice rules and rent repayment order guidance are UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website.
Verify the live position through Barnet Council's official property-licensing page, address checker and open-data register. Illustrative guide - the accessible source material was incomplete; general information, not legal advice.
Renewal tracked from expiry, reminders from 60 days out, proof of service to tenants logged. Knows the 2-month early-renewal rule that keeps your date fixed.
Five years goes quicker than you think. Kept remembers so you don't have to - including the 28-day duty to give tenants a copy.
Expiry tracked from the certificate details you confirm - band E is the current minimum for most domestic private lets unless exempt, and proposed changes are flagged only when they become law.
30-day protection window tracked from the day the money lands - not the tenancy date - with prescribed information logged.
Check dates and follow-up dates for time-limited permissions, stored against each tenant.
Smoke alarms every storey, CO alarms where required, checked and dated at the start of every tenancy.
A one-off duty for tenancies that existed on 1 May 2026. Who was served, when, and how - the £7,000 question, answered with a dated record.
Preparation and export support for the future official registration process - clearly marked as planned.
Selective licensing: UNVERIFIED - council page blocked. See the local picture above - every other duty applies exactly as it does nationwide.
Add a postcode and Kept resolves the council, location and local context automatically.
Planned preparation and export support for the government's regional PRS Database rollout.