Greenwich Selective Licensing Consultation – 21 July to 12 October 2026

Tuesday, July 21st, 2026 - Greenwich Council

Date: Tuesday 21 July to Monday 12 October 2026

Greenwich Council have launched a consultation on plans to implement a larger selective licensing scheme.

In Greenwich, Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) need to be licensed if they are occupied by five or more people as they fall within the national mandatory HMO licensing scheme.

All other HMOs require licensing under the Council’s additional licensing scheme that applies borough wide.

There is also a selective licensing scheme that covers properties occupied by a single household or two unrelated sharers in parts of Plumstead, Glyndon, Shooters Hill, Woolwich Common and Woolwich Riverside council wards. That scheme ends on 1 October 2027.

The Council are consulting on plans to introduce a new selective licensing scheme, as summarised below.

Before making a decision, the Council wants to hear from tenants, landlords, managing agents, residents, business owners, community organisations and anyone else who may be affected by the proposed scheme.

Proposed selective licensing scheme 

Greenwich Council are proposing to implement a selective licensing scheme which would extend licensing to all private rented accommodation occupied by a single household or two unrelated sharers in seventeen council wards plus part of Woolwich Arsenal.

The proposed scheme comprises three designations.

Designation 1

Abbey Wood, Charlton Village and Riverside, Plumstead and Glyndon, Thamesmead Moorings, Woolwich Common, Woolwich Dockyard, and the southern part of Woolwich Arsenal. The council says this area has a high proportion of privately rented homes above the national average, that there are high levels of serious hazards and high levels of deprivation. 

Designation 2

Blackheath Westcombe, Charlton Hornfair, East Greenwich, Eltham Town and Avery Hill, Greenwich Park, Kidbrooke Park, Plumstead Common, Shooters Hill, West Thamesmead. The council says this area has a high proportion of privately rented homes above the national average and there are high levels of serious hazards. 

Designation 3

Eltham Page, Middle Park and Horn Park. The council says this area has high levels of serious hazards and high levels of deprivation. 

The intention is that this new selective licensing scheme would replace the current scheme that ends on 1 October 2027.

You can find more information about the business case for the new selective licensing scheme, and what the scheme entails, on the Council’s website. 

Public meetings

Greenwich Council are holding face to face and online consultation meetings to go through the proposals with landlords and collect views on the proposed schemes. The meetings will take place on:

• Thursday 10 September 2026, 6pm to 7.30pm. Online Microsoft Teams Meeting, join here. Meeting ID: 354 347 238 731 870. Passcode: Af2UN35d
• Tuesday 22 September 2026, 6pm to 7.30pm. Online Microsoft Teams Meeting, join here. Meeting ID: 363 625 870 984 769. Passcode: j4du378A
• Tuesday 6 October 2026, 6pm to 7.30pm. Online Microsoft Teams Meeting, join here. Meeting ID: 365 240 894 152 263. Passcode: fm3r4Ga6

Meeting for letting and managing agents only:

• Friday 25 September 2026, 2.30pm to 4pm. Online Microsoft Teams Meeting, join here. Meeting ID: 373 903 285 740 443. Passcode: Yc3ee7VJ

As the council expect a large number of attendees at these events, they kindly request that you submit any questions relating to this proposal no later than four days prior to the meeting date. Questions should be emailed to PRPL2@royalgreenwich.gov.uk stating which date you will attend. This will help the council to ensure that all queries can be addressed as effectively as possible during the session.

Share your views

Once you have studied the proposals, you can complete the proposed property licensing scheme consultation questionnaire. To fill in the form, you will need set up an online account or log into your existing account.

If you have any queries or need to request a paper questionnaire or any other format, please contact Greenwich Council on 020 8921 8152 or email PRPL2@royalgreenwich.gov.uk. The consultation will run for 12 weeks and closes at 11.59pm on 12 October 2026.

Meanwhile, our free guide with more information about property licensing and HMO planning rules in the Royal Borough of Greenwich is available here.