Barking and Dagenham agents can be fined for unlicensed lets
Property Licensing Guide for Barking and Dagenham
Barking and Dagenham currently operates selective licensing in 19 wards and additional licensing in 19 wards; mandatory HMO licensing applies everywhere. Last checked: 20 October 2026.
This free guide will provide you with the key details regarding what licensing requirements are necessary in this area and how to apply for a licence.
New to this? Read our overview: What is selective licensing?
Barking and Dagenham is in the London registration window for the PRS database, which opens on 15 July 2027: see what the PRS database means for landlords and agents in London.
Barking and Dagenham Property Licensing Schemes
To check whether a Barking and Dagenham property is licensed, look it up on the council’s register of selective and mandatory HMO licences. Barking and Dagenham Council (LBBD) must keep a register of licensed houses under section 232 of the Housing Act 2004.
Is manual compliance causing a headache for your agency? At Kamma, we specialise in automating licensing compliance for agents across the UK. If you need any assistance in getting your property portfolio compliant, find out how we can help letting agents here.
Not sure whether a Barking and Dagenham property needs a licence? Kamma's free checker covers selective, additional and HMO schemes.
Check a Barking and Dagenham property →What are the licensing requirements for Barking and Dagenham?
Mandatory licensing in Barking and Dagenham
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across Barking and Dagenham (and all of England) to larger HMOs. These are properties occupied by five or more people forming more than one household, including:
- Shared houses and flats occupied by students and young professionals.
- Properties converted into bedsits with some shared facilities.
- Properties converted into a mix of self-contained and non-self-contained accommodation.
Do I need an additional property licence in Barking and Dagenham?
Additional licensing requires smaller HMOs in a designated area to be licensed. That means a privately rented property with three or more people forming more than one household.
Barking and Dagenham operates additional HMO licensing. The current designation is set out below.
Do I need a selective licence in Barking and Dagenham?
Selective licensing requires almost all privately rented properties in a designated area to be licensed, regardless of the number of occupants.
Barking and Dagenham operates selective licensing. The current designation is set out below.
Additional licensing: 9 January 2025 to 8 January 2030, borough-wide (all 19 wards).
Selective licensing: 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2030, borough-wide (all 19 wards).
Mandatory HMO licensing: in force since 2006 for HMOs of five or more people forming more than one household.
How do I apply for a licence?
You can apply for a licence via Barking and Dagenham Council’s website here. Or let Kamma’s expert team process the application for you.
How much does a licence cost?
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Selective licence fees | (from 6 April 2025): Part A £650, Part B £300. |
| Additional HMO licence fees | Part A £1,000, Part B £400. |
| Mandatory HMO licence fees | Part A £1,000, plus Part B by property size: £500 (up to 5 rooms), £600 (6–9), £700 (10–14), £800 (15–19), £1,000 (20+). |
We Handle Your Barking and Dagenham Applications End-to-End
TRUSTED BY LEADING AGENTS & LANDLORDS ACROSS THE UK
Managing Across Multiple Boroughs?
Reduce risk by swapping manual tracking for our licensing compliance platform Kamma Suite.
Two borough-wide schemes. Every private let. One quick scan.
Barking and Dagenham Property Licensing FAQs
Is Barking and Dagenham Council planning any new licensing schemes?
Barking and Dagenham already operates borough-wide selective licensing (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2030) and borough-wide additional HMO licensing (9 January 2025 to 8 January 2030), alongside the national mandatory HMO scheme. Together with the three selective designation areas covering all 19 wards, these apply to most privately rented homes in the borough.
Do all properties in Barking and Dagenham need a licence?
Most privately rented homes in Barking and Dagenham need a licence. Selective licensing has applied in all 19 wards since 6 April 2025, subject to statutory exemptions such as social housing. HMOs of three or four people from two or more households need an additional licence, and larger HMOs need a mandatory licence.
What if my property doesn't have a licence?
An unlicensed property in Barking and Dagenham can bring a civil penalty of up to £40,000 per property for offences on or after 1 May 2026. The landlord also risks a rent repayment order of up to 24 months’ rent. A letting agent who manages the property or collects the rent can be fined separately.
Can letting agents apply on behalf of landlords?
Yes. Letting agents can apply for property licences on behalf of landlords in Barking and Dagenham, and many manage the full process: preparing and submitting applications, liaising with the council, and tracking renewals.
How do I apply for a Barking and Dagenham property licence?
Apply directly through Barking and Dagenham Council’s website (licensing pages), or use a managed service such as Kamma to handle the process for you.
Why did Barking and Dagenham introduce selective licensing?
Barking and Dagenham Council designated three selective licensing areas covering all 19 wards, in force from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2030. The council states that private renting makes up nearly a third of homes in the borough and names deprivation, antisocial behaviour and substandard housing conditions as the challenges.
Why did Barking and Dagenham introduce additional licensing?
Barking and Dagenham Council designated the whole borough for additional HMO licensing, in force from 9 January 2025 for five years. It covers HMOs of three or more people forming two or more households that mandatory licensing does not reach.
What are the conditions to obtain an HMO licence in Barking and Dagenham?
Barking and Dagenham Council’s HMO licence conditions set standards for fire safety, amenities, room sizes and management. The council publishes the conditions for its additional and selective licensing schemes on its consultation site.
About Barking and Dagenham
Barking and Dagenham has 19 wards, and the council’s selective licensing designation covers all of them across three designated areas. Area 1 takes in Alibon, Barking Riverside, Beam, Becontree and 11 more wards. Area 2 is Abbey, Gascoigne and Northbury. Area 3 is Eastbrook and Rush Green. The council says private renting makes up nearly a third of homes in the borough and names deprivation, antisocial behaviour and substandard conditions as the challenges. Additional HMO licensing covers the whole borough.
Licensing Enforcement in Barking and Dagenham
Failing to apply for a licence is an offence under the Housing Act 2004, which the council’s designation notices say carries an unlimited fine or a civil penalty. The notices quote a £30,000 maximum. For offences on or after 1 May 2026 the maximum civil penalty is £40,000 per property. The landlord can also face a rent repayment order of up to 24 months’ rent. Where a letting agent manages the property or collects the rent, the agent can be fined in its own right. In 2026 the council’s Accredited Financial Investigator supported Nottingham City Council’s prosecution of an unlicensed HMO, which concluded on 6 May 2026.
Neighbouring borough guides
Licensing schemes stop at the borough boundary. A property one street over can need a different licence. Guides for the neighbouring boroughs:
Applying for a property licence in Barking and Dagenham
A Barking and Dagenham licence application is made to the council on the council’s own form, with the documents that council asks for. Requirements differ between councils and change when a designation changes, which is most of why an application that was correct last year is not necessarily correct now.
Letting agents can have Kamma do it. We prepare and submit mandatory HMO, additional HMO and selective licence applications in Barking and Dagenham and in every other UK council area, collect the supporting documents from you or from your landlord, and monitor the application through to approval. The apply for a licence through Kamma page sets out what we need and what happens when a council rejects a submission.
Landlords should speak to their letting agent, who can instruct us directly.
Tracking licensing across a managed portfolio
A single Barking and Dagenham address can be checked by hand. An agency managing several hundred properties across Barking and Dagenham and the boroughs around it cannot work that way, and designations change often enough that a check made last quarter may no longer hold.
Kamma connects to the CRM your agency already works in and reads the address and tenancy fields a licensing determination depends on. The licensing position for each property then sits beside the record your team is already looking at.
Pages covering what Kamma reads from each system and how to connect it are available for Reapit, Street.co.uk, MRI Sales and Lettings, MRI Radar, Apex27, Acquaint CRM, Jupix, iamproperty, SME Professional, Rex Software, SleekTech. Alto and agentOS also integrate. The full list is on the CRM integrations page.
