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Concerns raised about additional landlord licensing consultation in Sutton

Wednesday, August 6th, 2025 - London Property Licensing

Concerns have been raised by the independent housing consultancy, London Property Licensing, about the additional licensing consultation currently underway in Sutton.

On 17 June 2025, Sutton Council launched a consultation on plans to implement their first ever additional landlord licensing scheme.

The council have said the scheme will require landlords to meet certain standards on the safety and condition of the property, helping the council to clamp down on rogue landlords and ensuring better quality homes in the private sector.

A press release issued on 19 June 2025 (here) provided slightly more information. It said the scheme will apply to all Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) but caveated that by saying houses split into smaller units with shared facilities that are occupied by three of more people. This more limited definition potentially excludes section 257 HMOs, some converted building test HMOs and flats in multiple occupation.

The council’s press release explained landlords will need to pay a licence fee to rent out a property, without saying what the cost would be.

Beyond that little is known about the proposed licensing scheme, making it difficult for all interested parties to comment on the proposals.

Richard Tacagni, MD, London Property Licensing explains:

“An additional licensing scheme can only be implemented if the council can show that a significant proportion of HMOs of that description are being badly managed and adversely impacting on the occupants or local residents.

“The legislation requires the council to provide a detailed explanation of the proposed scheme, explaining the reasons for it, how it will tackle specific problems and the expected benefits.

“In this case, the consultation lacks any business case or evidence base, there is no detailed explanation of which HMO types would be included, what licence conditions would be applied and how much a licence would cost. It is highly unusual to see a licensing consultation containing such scant information”.

Prior to publication, London Property Licensing contacted Sutton Council to highlight this issue and request a response. We recommended the council pause the licensing consultation and resume the process for at least 10 weeks once all relevant information has been shared. At time of publication, Sutton Council had provided no response except to provide a link to their 19 June press release.

If the correct statutory process is not followed, any interested person could pursue a Judicial Review against the council which is costly to all parties and can lead to long delays.

Sutton’s additional licensing consultation can be viewed on the council’s website and continues until 8 September 2025.

If Sutton Council provide any further response, we will publish an update.

Our free guide containing more information about property licensing and HMO planning restrictions in Sutton is available here.