Havering moves to clamp down on HMOs as suspected unlicensed properties grow.

8th October 20268th October 2026 Francesca Lilleystone 0 Comments Havering Council, HMOs, Housing min read

Havering Council is moving to tighten planning controls on Houses in Multiple Occupation across the borough after council figures revealed a significant increase in suspected unlicensed HMOs.

The council is currently consulting on plans to introduce a borough-wide Article 4 Direction which, if confirmed, would mean all new HMOs across Havering would require planning permission before they could be created.

The move comes after council officers reported that 223 suspected unlicensed HMOs had been identified in 2025, describing the figure as showing “significant growth” compared with previous years.

Council figures presented to scrutiny also showed there were around 314 licensed HMOs at the time of the report, with concentrations in particular wards.

However, the council has acknowledged that its HMO data has limitations, including incomplete or incorrectly categorised information within its systems.

Officers told councillors that reported cases were investigated, while also acknowledging gaps in intelligence-led enforcement.

The latest Authority Monitoring Report, covering April 2024 to March 2025, recorded a net gain of nine HMO bedrooms during the monitoring period.

That figure is important because it does not support a claim that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of newly built HMOs. Instead, the latest evidence points to growing concern around existing and suspected unlicensed HMOs and their concentration in some parts of the borough.

Now Havering Council wants to give itself greater control over future HMO conversions.

At present, some detached homes can be converted into HMOs without planning permission under permitted development rights.

The proposed Article 4 Direction would remove those rights across the borough.

If introduced, landlords seeking to create a new HMO would have to submit a planning application, allowing the council to consider factors including the need for family-sized homes, the concentration of HMOs in an area, parking and transport impacts, the quality of accommodation and potential effects on local services and antisocial behaviour.

Council Leader Councillor Keith Prince said tackling HMOs had been made a priority in the administration’s First 100 Days Plan.

He said the proposed changes would give the council greater ability to consider HMO applications through the planning system and help manage their growth.

The council’s consultation on the proposed Article 4 Direction opened on 21 August 2026 and is due to run until 16 October 2026. If confirmed, the council proposes that the new planning controls would come into effect one year after the Direction is made.

The issue comes at a time when Havering is already under significant pressure to deliver more housing, with thousands of new homes proposed across the borough.

For residents, the debate over HMOs is likely to focus not simply on the number of properties being converted, but on where they are located, how they are managed and whether concentrations of shared accommodation are changing the character of established residential streets.

For landlords, the proposed rules could mean that creating an HMO becomes subject to a planning process across the whole borough rather than only in areas where existing planning restrictions apply.

The consultation will now give residents, landlords, businesses and other interested parties the opportunity to have their say before any final decision is made.

The full council evidence makes clear that the proposed changes are about controlling future HMO growth, rather than evidence that a huge increase in newly built HMOs has already taken place.

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