From midnight on 23 November 2026, selective licensing extends into seven more Islington wards. The designation was made on 21 August 2026, and the licensing scheme will run until 23:59 on 22 November 2031.
| Council | Scheme | Starts |
|---|---|---|
| Islington | Selective | 23 November 2026 |
Applications have been open since 7 September 2026. That is the part most people have missed. The scheme has not crept up on anyone, but the window to apply before it starts is now down to a few weeks.
What Is Changing in Islington?
Islington has designated a second selective licensing area, separate from the one already running.
The 2024 designation covering Finsbury Park, Tollington and Hillrise remains in force. The 2026 designation adds seven further wards on top of it.
So from 23 November 2026 there are two live selective schemes in the borough, with different ward lists and different end dates. A property is covered by one or the other, not both, and which one it falls under determines when its licence expires.
Which Wards Are Covered?
The new 2026 designation, from 23 November 2026:
- Barnsbury
- Caledonian
- Tufnell Park
- Mildmay
- Highbury
- Junction
- Laycock
The 2024 designation, already in force:
- Finsbury Park
- Tollington
- Hillrise
Ward boundaries do not follow the names people use in conversation. If you are not certain whether an address is in scope, this can be checked on the council's own area lookup, or you can contact Yuno and one of our team members will assist you.
Which Properties Are Affected?
The designation applies to privately rented properties occupied by:
- a single person
- two people sharing, whatever their relationship to one another
- any number of people forming a single household, which means a family
So it reaches an ordinary single let, down to a one-bed flat with one tenant. The "two people sharing regardless of relationship" wording is worth reading twice, because two unrelated sharers is the arrangement people most often assume must be an HMO question. In these wards it is a selective licensing question.
What Is Not Affected
[HMOs](/licensing-and-planning/what-is-an-hmo-property), whether they fall under mandatory or additional licensing. They are licensed under those schemes instead.
Owner-occupied properties.
Social housing, meaning anything owned or managed by the council or a housing association.
Why This Matters
Applications opened on 7 September 2026 and the scheme starts on 23 November 2026. Anyone who has not applied by then is operating an unlicensed property from the first day.
The designation sets out the consequences directly. Having control of or managing a licensable property without a licence is an offence under section 95(1) of the Housing Act 2004, and on summary conviction carries an unlimited fine. Breaching a licence condition is an offence under section 95(2), also carrying an unlimited fine. As an alternative, the council can impose a financial penalty, currently up to 40,000 pounds.
The exposure is not only the landlord's. The duty falls on the person having control of or managing the property, which is the wording that reaches a managing agent.
What Landlords Should Do Now
1. List every Islington address you manage and establish which of the ten wards, across the two designations, each one sits in. 2. Separate the HMOs out. They are licensed elsewhere and applying under the wrong scheme wastes time you do not have. 3. Apply now rather than in the third week of November. Applications have been open since September, and a queue at the end is predictable. 4. Record which designation each property falls under. The 2024 scheme and the 2026 scheme end on different dates, and in five years nobody will remember which was which. 5. Check the two-sharer properties specifically. They are the ones most likely to have been filed mentally as HMOs.
Why Landlords Get This Wrong
*"It's only two tenants, that's not licensable."*
In these wards it is. The designation names two people sharing, whatever their relationship, as being in scope.
*"We're already licensed in Islington."*
Under the 2024 designation, for a property in Finsbury Park, Tollington or Hillrise. That says nothing about a property in Highbury.
*"We'll apply when it starts."*
Applications opened in September. Starting on the day the scheme does means being unlicensed while the application is processed.
How Yuno Can Help
We hold the licensing position for every property in a portfolio and tell you when one of them changes.
For Islington that means identifying which of your addresses sit inside each designation, separating out the properties that belong under HMO licensing instead, preparing and submitting the applications, and tracking two different sets of expiry dates so the next renewal is not a surprise either. You keep the landlord relationship. We do the paperwork.
*Source: The London Borough of Islington Designation of an Area for Selective Licensing 2026, published under section 83 of the Housing Act 2004. Contact: property.licensing@islington.gov.uk, 020 7527 7670.*