Enfield Council says it is working to make sure “people living in HMOs in Enfield have safe and secure homes”, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Approvals for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in Enfield have hit a new high, figures show.

Data recently obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) through a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request reveals Enfield Council has now approved 1,078 active HMO licences, with a combined capacity for 5,948 people, as of 21st January this year.

The FOI shows that at least 262 licenses have been issued in the current financial year, starting from last April.

It means nearly a quarter of all current HMO licenses in the borough were granted in just the first nine months of 2025/26.

This is more than the total reached in any full twelve-month period over the past five years, going back to the first full year of the council’s ‘selective’ HMO licensing scheme.

The council granted a five-year renewal of its selective HMO licensing scheme in March last year, following a public consultation. It means the scheme, first introduced in September 2020, will run until 2030.

The scheme requires landlords for smaller HMOs in Enfield – those occupied by three or four people – to apply for licenses. This is stricter than the national mandatory HMO licensing scheme, which applies for properties occupied by five or more people.

According to a 2024 report by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) on local authority enforcement, Enfield was ranked sixth among all local authorities nationally between 2021 and 2023 on its use of civil penalties to tackle issues in HMOs.

In a press release published in March 2025, the local authority said its inspections found that 70% of HMOs in Enfield needed help to meet safety and housing standards, including issues like fire and electrical safety, as well as damp and overcrowding.

For this story, the LDRS approached Enfield Council for an update on this figure and did not get an answer, but a spokesperson stated the civic centre was putting more resources into improving HMO inspections over the past year.

They claim this increase in staff and funding has meant the local authority has “been able to inspect more properties and approve more licences”.

Regarding safety and housing standards, the council spokesperson said: “If our inspectors find problems, the landlord must fix them. Sometimes we add special conditions to the licence, with clear deadlines, so landlords know exactly what needs to be improved and by when.

“We provide clear guidance on our website to help landlords understand the rules and meet the right standards. We also have a dedicated fire safety adviser who visits HMOs to give expert advice to landlords and managing agents about fire safety.

“We also support landlords through regular forums and digital newsletters. All of this work is aimed at making sure people living in HMOs in Enfield have safe and secure homes.”

The spokesperson added that the council supports new government legislation aimed at providing better rights and protections for renters and that Enfield’s selective licensing scheme was “successful” and means “rented properties in Enfield must be of good standard”.

Nevertheless, HMOs have been a source of controversy in recent months.

Last August, a “rogue landlord” lost their appeal against a council enforcement notice at the former Southgate Police Station building, after people began living there without planning permission. The landlord was told to empty the property of residents by May this year.

In October, the council also began investigating Station Tavern, near Brimsdown Station, after it appeared to be converted into a HMO despite being refused a licence from the council.

And in December, Labour planning committee chair Mahym Bedekova faced calls to resign after failing to get prior planning permission for her own HMO, for which she had seperately obtained a licence. HMOs in Enfield must have both planning permission and a licence to be fully authorised.

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