HMO Inspections · Islington

HMO inspections and compliance assessments in Islington.

Islington licenses three- and four-person shares, and from 23 November 2026 its selective licensing scheme extends to seven more wards — bringing a large number of ordinary family lets into licensing for the first time.

Qualified Environmental Health Officer — not a general surveyor
24 years' front-line housing enforcement
6,000+ property inspections
Reports typically within ten working days

Which licence applies in Islington

A licence requirement depends on how many people occupy the property and how many households they form — not on what the property looks like. Islington Council currently operates the following.

Additional HMO licence (3 or 4 people, 2 or more households) — Covers 3–4 unrelated sharers, non-self-contained bedsits and flats, converted self-contained flats where the conversion fails Building Regulations 1991 standards and all flats are tenanted under one owner (section 257 HMOs), and flats let to 3–4 sharers in purpose-built blocks.
Mandatory HMO licence (5 or more people, 2 or more households) — The national scheme, including buildings of five or more people in two or more households made up of bedsits or flats that are not fully self-contained.
Selective licence (1–2 people or a single household) — Currently operating in Finsbury Park, Hillrise and Tollington. Extending to Barnsbury, Caledonian, Highbury, Junction, Laycock, Mildmay and Tufnell Park.

Source: Islington Council — property licensing — checked October 2026. Licensing designations change; confirm your property's position before relying on this.

The selective scheme changes on 23 November 2026

Islington is extending selective licensing to Barnsbury, Caledonian, Highbury, Junction, Laycock, Mildmay and Tufnell Park. Applications for the new designation open on 7 September 2026, and the new scheme begins at midnight on 23 November 2026. If you own a single-family let in one of those wards, licensing arrives whether or not the property is an HMO — and an inspection is the quickest way to find out what the application will need to demonstrate.

Penalties in Islington

Up to £40,000 — Fine for each offence of letting an unlicensed property, against each responsible person.
Up to 24 months' rent — Rent Repayment Order requiring repayment of up to two years' rental income.
Prosecution — Islington states that letting an unlicensed property is a criminal offence for landlords and managing agents.

What catches Islington landlords out

Section 257 conversions

A house converted into self-contained flats before the current building standards, where all the flats are tenanted and under one owner, is a section 257 HMO. Many owners of these do not realise the building is licensable because no individual flat looks like a shared house. It is a common and expensive oversight in Islington.

Four sharers is licensable

A four-bedroom house let to four professionals needs an additional licence here. That is the single most common licensing gap in the borough, and the residents most likely to complain about conditions are the least likely to be inspected by accident.

Selective licensing reaches family lets

The November extension brings single-household rentals into licensing in seven wards. Selective licences carry their own conditions — gas, electrical, smoke and carbon monoxide provision, and management standards — which are checked in the same inspection.

Who carries out the inspection

Liam McIntyre, BSc (Hons), LLB (Hons), MCIEH — a qualified Environmental Health Officer and Member of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, with 24 years' front-line housing enforcement and in excess of 6,000 property inspections.

Liam McIntyre spent part of his 24 years of front-line enforcement at Islington Council, working in one of London's most active private-sector housing teams.

Genuinely independent — no remedial works are sold and no fee depends on the findings.

HMO inspection scope and turnaround: HMO inspections · other boroughs: HMO inspections by borough · licensing strategy and tribunal work: landlord services · litigation: expert witness.

Book an HMO inspection in Islington

Email or WhatsApp with the property's size, occupancy and postcode and you will have a fixed fee the same working day.

Email: liam@mcintyre-property-compliance.co.uk · Phone / WhatsApp: 07527 317311