Islington
Islington Selective Licensing Wards
Selective licensing reaches 10 of Islington’s 17 wards. Seven are added by the expanded designation and three have been covered since 2024. The remaining seven need no selective licence at all.
The short answer. If you let a property in Barnsbury, Caledonian, Highbury, Junction, Laycock, Mildmay and Tufnell Park, a selective licence will be required once the scheme takes effect. If you let in Finsbury Park, Hillrise and Tollington, one is required already. In Arsenal, Bunhill, Canonbury, Clerkenwell, Holloway, St Mary’s & St James’ and St Peter’s & Canalside, no selective licence is needed, though HMO licensing still applies borough-wide.
Every Islington ward, and whether it needs a licence
The table covers all 17 wards. Selective licensing applies to all privately rented accommodation occupied by one or two people, a single family, or a household.
| Ward | Selective licence needed? | Under which designation |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | No | No selective designation |
| Barnsbury | Yes | Expanded designation (7 new wards) |
| Bunhill | No | No selective designation |
| Caledonian | Yes | Expanded designation (7 new wards) |
| Canonbury | No | No selective designation |
| Clerkenwell | No | No selective designation |
| Finsbury Park | Yes | 2024 designation, runs to 2029-05-19 |
| Highbury | Yes | Expanded designation (7 new wards) |
| Hillrise | Yes | 2024 designation, runs to 2029-05-19 |
| Holloway | No | No selective designation |
| Junction | Yes | Expanded designation (7 new wards) |
| Laycock | Yes | Expanded designation (7 new wards) |
| Mildmay | Yes | Expanded designation (7 new wards) |
| St Mary’s & St James’ | No | No selective designation |
| St Peter’s & Canalside | No | No selective designation |
| Tollington | Yes | 2024 designation, runs to 2029-05-19 |
| Tufnell Park | Yes | Expanded designation (7 new wards) |
Coverage is set at ward level. Ward boundaries and postcode boundaries are different geographies drawn for different purposes, so a postcode does not reliably place a property inside or outside a designated ward. Where a property sits near a boundary, check the address rather than the postcode: Islington selective licensing checker.
A note on the council's ward list
Islington’s licensing page introduces the new areas as “these 7 areas” and then lists six, omitting Mildmay. Mildmay is named in the council’s own announcement and carries a designated ward code in the designation record, so it is included above. If you let in Mildmay and have been reading the council’s list, this is the ward you would have missed.
The seven wards with no selective designation
No selective licence is required in these wards. Two other schemes still reach them.
Arsenal
Bunhill
Canonbury
Clerkenwell
Holloway
St Mary’s & St James’
St Peter’s & Canalside
Mandatory and additional HMO licensing both apply across the whole borough, so a shared house in any of these seven wards may still need a licence. The test is occupancy rather than geography: see which Islington properties are exempt for how the three schemes divide.
What a designation is, and what it changes
A selective licensing designation is a decision by the council that privately rented homes in a named area need a licence. It is made under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 and it applies to the property, so it binds whoever lets it, whether that is the owner or an agent acting for them.
Two dates matter and they are not the same date. The designation is made when the council signs it. It commences later, and under section 82(8) of the Housing Act 2004 that cannot be less than three months after it is made. Between the two, the council must publish a statutory notice stating the exact commencement date.
For letting agents. A designation binds the person managing the property as well as the owner, so a managed portfolio inherits the obligation on the day the scheme commences, not when the landlord gets round to it. Penalties reach £40,000 per property and agents can be held jointly liable.
What happens next
No commencement date has been published. This is the sequence the Housing Act sets, and where the scheme currently sits in it.
21 August 2026
Designation made
7 September 2026
Applications open
23 November 2026
Scheme takes effect
Islington Council made the designation covering the seven new selective licensing wards on 21 August 2026. Applications open on 7 September 2026, and the scheme takes effect on 23 November 2026.
Check a specific property
Ward boundaries cut through postcode sectors. Check the address rather than the area.
Frequently asked questions
Ten of Islington’s 17 wards: Barnsbury, Caledonian, Finsbury Park, Highbury, Hillrise, Junction, Laycock, Mildmay, Tollington and Tufnell Park.
Seven: Barnsbury, Caledonian, Highbury, Junction, Laycock, Mildmay and Tufnell Park. The other three, Finsbury Park, Hillrise and Tollington, have been covered since 2024.
Seven: Arsenal, Bunhill, Canonbury, Clerkenwell, Holloway, St Mary’s & St James’ and St Peter’s & Canalside. Mandatory and additional HMO licensing still apply borough-wide in those wards, so a shared house there may still need a licence.
Yes. Islington’s licensing page lists six new wards under a heading that says seven, and Mildmay is the one omitted. It is named in the council’s own announcement and in the designation record.
Applications open on 7 September 2026 and the scheme takes effect on 23 November 2026.
