Landlord licensing schemes hit record high with London now a ‘minefield’
The number of new licensing areas nearly reached 50 in 2025, with London becoming the "epicentre of enforcement", according to proptech firm Kamma.
A record number of local landlord licensing schemes were introduced last year, with London now becoming a ‘minefield’, according to proptech platform Kamma.
The firm reports 49 new licensing areas launched in 2025, with 16 already confirmed into the new year.
And as enforcement is set to increase with the Renters’ Rights Act, the risks of non-compliance are growing, Kamma says.
Penalties increase
Penalties are set to rise further under the Act, including doubling Rent Repayment Orders to 24 months and introducing a national private landlord database to make identifying unlicensed properties far easier.
London has become the “epicentre of licensing enforcement”, with 28 out of 32 London boroughs now operating licensing restrictions.
Minefield
Kamma warns that the capital has become “a regulatory minefield” for landlords and letting agents, with over £13 million in fines for licensing offences,
Havering Council was the latest London borough to announce a significant expansion of its selective licensing, earlier this week.
Westminster, Islington and Waltham Forest all recently introduced or expanded selective licensing schemes, while Lambeth and Southwark are already operating large-scale designations.
Elsewhere in the capital, Enfield and Croydon have both consulted on further extensions to their existing schemes, with decisions expected shortly.
Acceleration
And the pace shows no sign of slowing, with 16 schemes scheduled to go live this year in different parts of the country. Thurrock, Leeds and Salford are all launching schemes in the coming months.
This acceleration has been enabled, Kamma says, by recent government changes that removed the requirement for Secretary of State approval, giving councils greater freedom than ever to introduce selective licensing.
Orla Shields, CEO at Kamma, says: “You could drive through North London in a couple of hours and pass through sixteen different licensing regimes.
“By the time you’ve learnt one set of rules, you’re already in another borough with completely different requirements.”
