Hackney
Verified local trades for Hackney
London Heroes covers Hackney around the clock. Every professional is identity-checked by a human, has their credentials verified against evidence and watched for expiry, and every payment is held securely until you confirm the work is done.
Landlord licensing in Hackney
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England. Hackney may also operate additional or selective licensing.
- Selective licensing
- In operation. Hackney operates a selective licensing scheme covering privately rented properties let to a single household, a single tenant, or two individuals sharing, in 17 of the borough's 21 wards. Hackney's news release describes this as covering 76% of privately rented homes in the borough. The scheme came into force on 1 May 2026 and the designation is stated to run for five years, ceasing to have effect on 30 April 2031.Coverage: Brownswood, Cazenove, Clissold, Dalston, De Beauvoir, Hackney Central, Hackney Downs, Hackney Wick, Homerton, King's Park, Lea Bridge, London Fields, Shacklewell, Springfield, Stamford Hill West, Stoke Newington, Victoria (17 of 21 wards).Designated: In force from 1 May 2026; designation stated to cease 30 April 2031.
- Additional HMO licensing
- In operation. Hackney has approved a new additional HMO licensing scheme covering HMOs occupied by 3 or 4 people from two or more households sharing facilities. The council's property licensing page lists additional HMO licences as one of its three licence types. Hackney's news release states the new schemes come into force in May 2026, and the council's application page states 'We'll start processing selective and additional HMO applications from 1 May 2026.' Reporting of the scheme indicates additional HMO licensing covers the four wards not included in the selective designation, alongside the borough's mandatory HMO regime.Coverage: Not definitively established from a council HTML page. Reporting indicates the additional scheme covers the wards outside the 17-ward selective designation.Designated: In force from 1 May 2026.
Hackney's schemes are new and now live, so this is the borough on this list where a landlord is most likely to be non-compliant without realising it - the requirement began this year. Fees are published clearly and are charged in two parts: a selective licence is £555 (Part A) plus £370 (Part B), total £925; an additional HMO or mandatory HMO licence is £840 plus £560, total £1,400. Discounts of £50-£100 are available for energy-efficient properties, accredited landlords and multi-dwelling applications. Applications go through propertylicensing.hackney.gov.uk, or by phone on 020 8356 4866 or email property.licensing@hackney.gov.uk for landlords unable to apply online. Note that mandatory and additional HMO licences cost the same in Hackney, so the distinction between them affects the conditions rather than the price.
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 HackneyCouncil’s licensing pages before applying or paying.
What Hackney is built of — and what that means for repairs
Hackney is dense, overwhelmingly pre-1919 in its street pattern, and very heavily converted. Large parts of Clapton, Stoke Newington, De Beauvoir, London Fields and Dalston are Georgian and Victorian terraces, a great deal of it in conservation areas, and a very high proportion has been divided into flats - typically two or three per house - rather than remaining as single dwellings. Interleaved with this are extensive post-war council estates from the LCC and GLC era, many still substantially in social ownership and many now with mixed leasehold ownership. Shoreditch and Hackney Wick add a distinctive layer of former industrial and warehouse buildings converted to residential and live-work units, and Woodberry Down, Hackney Wick and the Olympic fringe contribute large volumes of recent new-build flats.
Common repair issues in Hackney
- Solid-wall Georgian and Victorian terraces have rising and penetrating damp, failed or bridged DPCs, and cold walls that cannot be internally insulated without careful attention to interstitial condensation - and often cannot be externally insulated at all in conservation areas
- The exceptionally high rate of flat conversion means recurring problems with fire compartmentation between flats, protected escape routes, sound transmission through original timber floors, and shared soil stacks and drainage never designed for the number of bathrooms now installed
- Conservation area and listed-building controls across much of the borough constrain windows, roof coverings, front elevations, rooflights and rear extensions, so like-for-like heritage repair rather than replacement is frequently required
- Party wall matters are unusually frequent given the density of terraced housing and the volume of basement, loft and rear extension work
- Post-war estates bring communal heating and riser systems, block-level roofing and drainage, and a high likelihood of asbestos-containing materials in pre-2000 construction
- Warehouse and industrial conversions in Shoreditch and Hackney Wick carry acoustic, thermal, ventilation and fire-strategy issues arising from shells never designed as dwellings
Areas we cover in Hackney
- Dalston
- Stoke Newington
- Clapton
- Hackney Central
- Shoreditch
- London Fields
- Homerton
- Hackney Wick
- De Beauvoir
- Woodberry Down
Nearby boroughs
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Services in Hackney
Ordered for what’s common in Hackney’s housing — every service is available to book here, day or night.
Browse all servicesStraight answers for Hackney
How do I find a verified plumber or electrician in Hackney?
Describe the job at londonheroes.co.uk/request. Every professional on London Heroes has passed a human-reviewed identity check, holds verified credentials (Gas Safe for gas work, competent-person scheme membership for electrical work, public liability insurance) displayed live on their public Hero Passport, and is monitored daily for credential expiry. London Heroes covers Hackney around the clock.
How does payment protection work on London Heroes?
You pay when you book, but the money is held securely and only released to the tradesperson when you confirm the work is complete. If something goes wrong before you confirm, raising a dispute freezes the money automatically while a named member of the team investigates — outcomes include partial or full refund. The platform fee is a transparent 10%, paid by the professional.
Are the tradespeople on London Heroes vetted?
Yes — and by a human, not an algorithm. Verification includes photographic ID, a selfie holding the document, business registration for limited companies, and evidence for every declared credential. A lapsed credential 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 Hackney?
Nothing extra: you pay the professional's quoted price 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 Hackney?
Hackney operates additional HMO licensing and selective licensing; the exact coverage of each is set out on our Hackney page. Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England regardless. Checked against Hackney 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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