Barking and Dagenham

Verified local trades for Barking and Dagenham

London Heroes covers Barking and Dagenham around the clock. Every professional is identity-checked by a person before they can take work, every credential they add is reviewed by our team against its evidence, with any expiry date checked daily, and every payment is held securely until you confirm the work is done.

If you smell gas, or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds: don't smoke, light a flame or touch light switches, open the doors and windows, turn the gas off at the meter if you can reach it safely and it isn't in a cellar or basement, get everyone out, and call the National Gas Emergency Service free on 0800 111 999 before anything else — before calling us.

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Landlord licensing in Barking and Dagenham

Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England. Barking and Dagenham may also operate additional or selective licensing.

The council’s own sources disagree

Barking and Dagenham's own 'Do I need a licence?' page describes selective licensing as covering 'three targeted designation areas in the borough', while the council's press release announcing the scheme says all landlords in the borough must obtain a licence — describing it as a borough-wide scheme.

Confirm with the council before you act on either.

Selective licensing: Sources disagree — see above. Selective licensing applies to privately rented property occupied by a single household (or two unrelated sharers) that is not a licensable HMO. Fees (as published by the council): Part A £650 and Part B £300, with the same £200 Silver / £250 Gold discounts against Part B. IMPORTANT NUANCE: the council's own 'Do I need a licence?' page describes the scheme as covering 'three targeted designation areas in the borough', NOT a single borough-wide designation — even though council press material describes it as approved for the whole borough. The statutory public notice confirms three separate designated areas.Coverage: Three designated areas. The statutory public notice names wards including Abbey, Alibon, Barking Riverside, Beam, Becontree, Chadwell Heath, Eastbrook & Rush Green, Eastbury, Gascoigne, Goresbrook, Heath, Longbridge, Mayesbrook, Northbury, Parsloes, Thames View, Valence, Village and Whalebone — i.e. effectively the whole borough, split across three designations. The exact allocation of each ward to each of the three designations could not be reliably read from the source document, so landlords should check the maps in Annex A of the public notice.Designated: In force 6 April 2025; ceases to have effect 5 April 2030 (or earlier if revoked under s.84 Housing Act 2004). Designation approved by Assembly 18 September 2024 and made 6 January 2025. Applications opened 17 March 2025.
Additional HMO licensing: In operation. Additional HMO licensing is in force. The council's page states an Additional HMO Licence is required for an 'HMO occupied by three or four people, forming two or more households'. Fees (as published by the council): Part A £1,000 and Part B £400. Compliance discounts are available against the Part B fee: £200 (Silver Award, satisfactory compliance audit inspection) and £250 (Gold Award, landlord accreditation plus satisfactory inspection).Coverage: Borough-wide.Designated: Launched 9 January 2025 and runs for five years (applications opened 9 December 2024).

Barking and Dagenham runs all three scheme types simultaneously, so essentially every private rental in the borough needs some form of licence. The previous selective scheme ended in summer 2024 and the current one is a fresh designation, so a licence issued under the old scheme is not evidence of current compliance. Fees are split into two parts (Part A on application, Part B on grant), which catches landlords out who budget only for the headline figure. Statutory planning services are delivered by Be First on the council's behalf, not by an in-house planning team.

Checked against the council’s own pages on 21 July 2026. Licensing schemes are five-year designations that expire and get redesignated on their own timetables — always confirm on Barking and Dagenham Council’s licensing pages before applying or paying.

A property somewhere else in London? Check any London address with the free Property Licence Checker — all 33 boroughs on one page, each dated, with the whole dataset free to download.

Heating and gas safety in Barking and Dagenham

Barking and Dagenham operates additional HMO licensing borough-wide, checked against the council’s own pages on 21 July 2026. Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England regardless.

If you let a property with gas appliances installed, the landlord gas safety duties apply whether or not it needs a property licence.

Source — checked 21 July 2026

Landlord Gas Safety Record (LGSR, often called 'CP12' in the industry, though that is not the certificate's legal name)

Annual — within 12 months of appliance/flue installation and at intervals of not more than 12 months thereafter.

Source — checked 20 October 2026

Gas safety duties are set nationally and do not vary between London boroughs — only the licensing position above does.

Check an engineer on the Gas Safe Register: gassaferegister.co.uk

Source — checked 21 July 2026

Boiler repair · Boiler service · Landlord gas safety certificate (CP12)

What Barking and Dagenham is built of — and what that means for repairs

The borough is dominated by the Becontree Estate, the vast interwar cottage estate built between 1921 and 1932, which produced around 27,000 low-rise homes laid out mainly as two-storey short terraces and semi-detached pairs with generous gardens and wide street frontages. Around Barking town centre and Dagenham there are post-war council-built blocks and maisonettes, many now in mixed private and social ownership after right-to-buy. The Thames-side east of the borough, principally Barking Riverside, is large-scale modern new-build flats and houses.

Common repair issues in Barking and Dagenham

Ageing interwar Becontree housing with original solid or early-cavity walls, giving cold, poorly insulated external walls and condensation damp
Original interwar single-skin roofs and timber sash or steel casement windows reaching end of life, driving re-roofing and window replacement work
Right-to-buy ex-council houses where earlier owner works were done without building control sign-off, causing problems on sale and on licence inspections
Post-war estate flats with communal heating and shared services, where individual leaseholders cannot unilaterally change the heating system
Widespread rear extensions and loft conversions on Becontree terraces, which now sit within a council Supplementary Planning Document and Design Code for the estate
Licence-driven remedial demand: mandatory electrical (EICR), fire alarm and gas certification work required to satisfy selective and additional licence conditions

Areas we cover in Barking and Dagenham

Barking Town Centre
Barking Riverside
Becontree
Dagenham
Chadwell Heath
Rush Green
Thames View
Gascoigne

Nearby boroughs

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Services in Barking and Dagenham

Ordered for what’s common in Barking and Dagenham’s housing — every service is available to book here, day or night.

Building Painting Carpentry Heating & boilers Gas services Roofing Windows & locks Electrical

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Straight answers for Barking and Dagenham

How do I find a verified plumber or electrician in Barking and Dagenham?

Describe the job at londonheroes.co.uk/request. Every professional on London Heroes has passed an identity check, decided by a person, before they can take work. The Hero Agreement requires the credentials their work needs (Gas Safe for gas work, competent-person scheme membership for electrical work, public liability insurance); our team reviews each one a professional adds, and once verified it shows on their Hero Passport with any expiry date it carries, which is checked daily. London Heroes covers Barking and Dagenham around the clock.

How does payment protection work on London Heroes?

You pay when you book, and the money is held securely. It is released to the tradesperson when you confirm the work is complete, or after a dispute you raise is resolved in their favour. If something goes wrong before you confirm, raising a dispute freezes the money automatically while our team investigates; outcomes can include a refund to your original payment method. The platform fee is a transparent 10%, paid by the professional.

Are the tradespeople on London Heroes vetted?

Yes, and the decision is made by a person, not an algorithm. Identity verification includes photographic ID, a selfie holding the document, and business registration for limited companies, and no one can take work until it is approved. Every credential a professional adds is uploaded with its evidence and reviewed by our team. A credential whose recorded expiry date has passed shows as expired on the professional's public Passport rather than being hidden, and reviews can only be written by clients of real, paid jobs.

What does it cost to use London Heroes in Barking and Dagenham?

Nothing extra: you pay the price shown for the job and no booking fees on top. The platform's 10% commission is paid by the professional out of the job price. Cancel before work starts and you receive a full refund.

Do landlords need a property licence in Barking and Dagenham?

Barking and Dagenham operates additional HMO licensing borough-wide. Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England regardless. Checked against Barking and Dagenham Council’s own pages on 21 July 2026 — confirm on the council’s website before applying, as designations expire and are renewed on their own timetables.

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