From Wembley to Kilburn, I cover the whole of Brent as an accredited domestic energy assessor: Wembley Central, Alperton and Sudbury (HA0), Wembley Park and Preston (HA9), Kingsbury (NW9), Willesden, Harlesden, Kensal Green, Neasden and Stonebridge (NW10), Dollis Hill (NW2), and Kilburn, Brondesbury and Queen’s Park (NW6). There is no travel surcharge anywhere inside Greater London.
| Households (2021 census) | 118,612 |
|---|---|
| Rented privately | 36.0% (London 30.0%) |
| Owned outright or with a mortgage | 38.4% (London 45.2%) |
| Social rented | 23.5% (London 23.1%) |
| Households living in a flat | 56.7% (London 54.0%) |
| …of which in a converted house | 16.5% of all households (London 11.1%) |
| Households in a house | 43.3% (London 45.9%) |
| Typical (median) EPC score | 72, band C (London 70) |
| Homes with an EPC rated C or above | 62% (London 58%) |
| Selective licence (1 or 2 people, or one household) | Every ward except Wembley Park; £640 (£340 + £300) |
| Additional HMO licence (3 or 4 people, 2 or more households) | Since 2 February 2026; £1,040 |
| EPC with every application | Required, rated A to E unless a valid exemption is in place |
Sources: Census 2021, Office for National Statistics, tables TS054 (tenure) and TS044 (accommodation type) via Nomis; London means the 33 local authorities added together. Licensing: Brent Council’s “Property licensing” page, checked 22 October 2026. EPC figures: ONS, “Energy efficiency of housing in England and Wales” (28 October 2025), the latest certificate for each home lodged in the ten years to March 2025, at the score when it was assessed; homes without an EPC are not counted.
Brent licenses almost every rented home
If you rent a property to a single person, two people or a single household anywhere in Brent except the Wembley Park ward, you need a selective licence. Designation 1, covering Harlesden and Kensal Green, Dollis Hill and Willesden Green, came into force on 1 August 2023; designation 2, covering the other 18 wards apart from Wembley Park, followed on 1 April 2024. Each lasts five years.
A new additional licensing scheme came into force on 2 February 2026. It covers every privately rented property occupied by three or four people making up two or more households, section 257 HMOs — converted blocks of self-contained flats that did not, and still do not, meet the 1991 Building Regulations, where fewer than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied — and HMOs in certain purpose-built blocks. Five or more sharers need a mandatory licence.
Fees from 2 February 2026: selective £640 (£340 with the application and £300 on grant), additional £1,040 (£540 and £500), and mandatory £1,040 plus £25 for each habitable room over the first five. Members of the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme get £40 off. Licences run for one or five years, and the council aims for five wherever possible. Without a licence you risk a financial penalty of up to £40,000 or an unlimited fine on conviction, and you may have to repay up to 24 months’ rent.
The EPC has to be A to E, and HMOs need every room size
Brent asks for a copy of the current EPC with every application, with a rating between A and E unless a valid exemption is in place. If your certificate has expired or the home is rated F or G, that has to be put right before you apply — the landlord guide explains the minimum standard and how exemptions work, and the improvement guide covers what lifts a rating. For a mandatory or additional licence the form also asks for the size of each room in square metres, including every bedroom, bedsit, communal kitchen and communal room, with each room categorised.
One visit covers both: a lodged EPC and a laser-measured floor plan with every room’s dimensions, from £123 together. Checked on Brent Council’s property licensing page on 22 October 2026; City Hall’s property licence checker shows the schemes by address.
What the assessment looks at in a Brent home
How homes in Brent score today. The ONS’s latest figures use each home’s most recent EPC lodged in the ten years to March 2025. The typical (median) score here is 72, band C, against 70 across London, and 62% of those homes are rated C or above (London 58%). Homes built before 1929 have a median of 65, against 84 for homes built since 2012; flats and maisonettes come out at 76, terraced houses at 66. How every London borough compares.
Brent sits between inner and outer London: 56.7% of households live in a flat and 43.3% in a house, and 16.5% live in a flat in a converted house.
Metro-land Wembley
Wembley grew as part of Metro-land, the suburbs the Metropolitan Railway encouraged, and Wembley Park was developed in the 1920s, the decade of the old Empire Stadium. Most of Wembley’s housing is inter-war semi-detached houses and terraces, with modern apartment blocks and a sizeable minority of detached houses, and new housing has gone up near the stadium since the early 2000s. For an inter-war house, the wall type, the depth of loft insulation and any extension or loft conversion matter most; for a new flat near the stadium, check whether its EPC from completion is still valid.
Victorian Kilburn, Harlesden and Willesden
To the east the borough is older and denser. Solomon Barnett developed much of Kilburn in the last decades of the nineteenth century; Harlesden grew from cottages for railway and industrial workers, its housing spreading from late Victorian times until the 1930s; and after the First World War Willesden grew quickly, with numerous flats and terraced houses. Many of those houses are now flats, where the flat’s position in the house and the solid walls of the period shape the rating.
Selling in Brent
38.4% of Brent households own their home. To sell, you need an EPC ordered before the home is put on the market; the sellers’ guide covers the rest.
Prices
- Domestic EPC from £69
- EPC + floor plan from £123, in one visit
- Floor plan only from £69
Guide prices by size: £69 up to 52 square metres, which covers most one-bedroom flats, £75 for two bedrooms, £85 from 71 to 95 square metres and £90 up to 110. The same anywhere in London, confirmed in writing before you book. How EPC prices compare across London.
Common questions
Do I need a selective licence in Brent?
Yes, if you rent to a single person, two people or a single household anywhere in Brent except the Wembley Park ward. Designation 1 started on 1 August 2023 and designation 2 on 1 April 2024, each for five years.
Does a Brent licence application need an EPC?
Yes. Brent asks for a copy of the current EPC, with a rating between A and E unless a valid exemption is in place, uploaded with the application.
What does a Brent HMO licence application ask about rooms?
The size of each room in square metres, including all bedrooms, bedsits, communal kitchens and communal rooms, with each room categorised. A laser-measured floor plan gives you every room’s size.
How much is a Brent property licence?
From 2 February 2026: selective £640, additional £1,040, and mandatory £1,040 plus £25 for each habitable room over the first five, each paid in two parts. Members of the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme get £40 off.
How much is an EPC in Brent?
From £69 for a home of up to 52 square metres, which covers most one-bedroom flats, £75 for two bedrooms and £85 for 71 to 95 square metres, rising with floor area. There is no travel surcharge anywhere in Greater London.
Nearby
Next door: Camden, Barnet, Harrow, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster. I cover every London borough.