HMO licence plans for Newham landlords, ready before you pay the council
In Newham the question is rarely whether a rented house needs a licence. It is which of three. Selective licensing covers rented homes across almost the whole borough, an additional licence picks up smaller shared houses, and a mandatory licence applies from five people. We draw the scaled plans and room schedule for the HMO ones, for a fixed £495.
Fixed fee from £495 · all prices
Prefer to talk it through?
Three licences, one borough
Newham's selective licensing scheme was launched on 1 June 2023 and covers every ward except Royal Victoria and Stratford Olympic Park. That is why a Newham landlord with a two-person flat in Plaistow or a family house in Manor Park still needs a licence.
Where the property is an HMO, a different licence applies instead. Shared houses of three or four people fall under the additional licence, and five or more people under the national mandatory one. The plans we draw are for those HMO cases, because a licence for a house let to several households is judged on its layout, and the council wants to see that layout drawn accurately.
HMO Licence Plans in Newham
from £495
Every price is the full fixed fee you pay. No VAT is charged. Council application fees are paid to the council separately.
What you get
- Scaled plans of every floor with each room labelled by use
- A schedule of bedroom areas against the national minimum room sizes
- Kitchens, bathrooms and WCs counted against the number of tenants
- A check of the house against the licence type it will need
- A PDF pack for the document upload step of the online application
- A short note of anything the council may query
- Work out which licence
Selective, additional or mandatory depends on how many people and households live there.
- Measure the house
A measured survey gives room areas you can stand behind.
- Draw and schedule
Scaled floors plus a table of every bedroom area.
- Fix any shortfall
A room under its minimum is raised before any council fee is paid.
- Apply online
Upload the pack with your Part A payment on the council's form.
What the council charges, and why plans come first
Newham's fees page lists a selective licence at £750, an additional licence at £1,250 and a mandatory licence from £1,400 for up to five lettings. Each is paid in two parts. Part A is paid when you apply and covers processing.
The detail that matters for planning your work is on the same page: the application fee is non-refundable regardless of whether the application is successful. An application with a bedroom under its minimum is an application that may fail, so it is cheaper to find out on paper first. The council's fees are separate and are paid to the council.
The council lists a £100 administration cost on top of the licence fee for a paper application.
The discount that depends on a certificate
The fees page says an accredited landlord whose property has an EPC rating of A+, A, B or C can bring a selective licence down to £650, and the certificate has to be uploaded when the application is submitted. Discounts cannot be considered once the application is submitted and paid.
That rule is a good reason to gather everything in one sitting: the EPC, proof of accreditation and the plans. Our pack is designed to sit in that same upload step so nothing is added late.
Room sizes still decide HMO cases
For the HMO licences, the plan has to answer a simple question: is every bedroom big enough? The national conditions say a room for one person over 10 must be at least 6.51 square metres and for two people over 10 at least 10.22 square metres. A room below 4.64 square metres cannot be used for sleeping.
Our schedule lists every bedroom with its measured area and the people it is intended for. A box room over a stair can look like a bedroom and measure like a store, and it is better to learn that before you apply.
A paper application costs extra
The council lists a £100 administration cost on top of the licence fee for a paper application. For most landlords the online route is the sensible one, and the PDF pack we issue is built to be uploaded rather than posted.
If you hold several houses, the page also lists a multi-dwelling selective arrangement for several dwellings in one building. Tell us how many properties you have and we will quote the plans together.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| launched 1 June 2023; all wards except Royal Victoria and Stratford Olympic Park | Newham Council, Selective licensing: launched on 1 June 2023 and covers all wards except Royal Victoria and Stratford Olympic Park | www.newham.gov.uk |
| £750 | Newham Council, Licence fees and charges: selective licence Part A £400 + Part B £350 for up to five years | www.newham.gov.uk |
| £1250 | Newham Council, Licence fees and charges: additional (HMO) licence Part A £400 + Part B £850 for up to five years | www.newham.gov.uk |
| from £1400 | Newham Council, Licence fees and charges: mandatory HMO licence totals start at £1,400 for up to 5 lettings (Part A £450) | www.newham.gov.uk |
| non-refundable | Newham Council, Licence fees and charges: (source wording: "The application fee is non-refundable, regardless of whether the application is successful.") | www.newham.gov.uk |
| £650 | Newham Council, Licence fees and charges: accredited landlord with an EPC of A+, A, B or C can reduce a selective licence to £650; the EPC must be uploaded with the application | www.newham.gov.uk |
| £100 | Newham Council, Licence fees and charges: paper application administration cost (application fee also required) | www.newham.gov.uk |
| 6.51 square metres | Licensing and Management of HMOs (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018, new Sch 4 para 1A(2)(a): one person aged over 10 years (source wording: "not less than 6.51 square metres") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 10.22 square metres | Same regulations, para 1A(2)(b): two persons aged over 10 years (source wording: "not less than 10.22 square metres") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 4.64 square metres | Same regulations, para 1A(2)(d): a room under this size may not be used for sleeping (source wording: "less than 4.64 square metres") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
Questions people ask
Does my rented house in Newham need a licence even if it is not an HMO?
Can I get my Part A fee back if the application fails?
Do you submit the application for me?
Are the council's fees in your price?
Photographs: Chris Whippet (CC BY-SA 2.0); Tim Green from Bradford (CC BY 2.0).
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