Landlord licensing and compliance in Hillingdon
Hillingdon's borough-wide additional HMO licensing scheme opened for applications on 20 May 2026, with compliance required from 23 August 2026. The council's current planning page also describes a borough-wide C3-to-C4 Article 4 restriction, while an older page refers only to two wards. Check the current position and fees with the council.
Additional HMO licensing
The new additional scheme covers qualifying shared HMOs with three or more people from two or more households sharing facilities, across the borough. Applications opened on 20 May 2026, full compliance was required by 23 August 2026, and the council says enforcement could begin from 24 August 2026. Landlords should confirm their status immediately. The scheme page gives a £1,401 fee and a 10% accredited-landlord discount, but no fee year.
Fees, planning and enforcement
The mandatory fee page shows two payments of £1,104 and £552, totalling £1,656, and also displays a £1,401 total without explaining the difference. It gives a five-year term and asks for safety certificates, plans and fire-risk documents. The current Article 4 page says C3-to-C4 conversion needs permission borough-wide following a Full Council decision on 27 November 2025; an older landlord page still names only Brunel and Uxbridge South wards. Confirm the operative date and coverage with planning. The council's landlord page states penalties up to £20,000 and £5,000 per condition breach, which conflict with current legislation allowing up to £40,000 for relevant offences.
Sources: Hillingdon Council HMO licensing, fee, register and Article 4 pages, and legislation.gov.uk section 249A. Selective licensing status, fee-year basis, conflicting mandatory totals and the precise operative date of borough-wide planning coverage remain UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. Illustrative guide - scheme boundaries and dates change; 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 (ordinary lets): UNVERIFIED - could not confirm on council website. 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.