London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham

If you need help understanding the property licensing rules in Hammersmith & Fulham you have come to the right place! We are experts in housing regulation and have produced this free guide to help you understand the council’s property licensing schemes.

If you find that you need a licence for your rented property our support doesn’t end there. Our Landlord Suppliers Directory (view here) lists companies that offer a licence application handling service. You can also find companies offering a wide range of other goods and services to help you manage your property portfolio and achieve compliance.

Licensing Requirements

Do I need a licence to rent out my property?

There are currently three licensing schemes operating in Hammersmith & Fulham. We will help you choose the right licence for your property:

1. Mandatory HMO licence

In Hammersmith & Fulham you need a mandatory HMO licence if your property meets the standard test, self-contained flat test or converted building test HMO definition in section 254 of the Housing Act 2004 and is occupied by five or more people.

But what are these tests and what does this mean in practice? It means you need a licence for any house or flat that is occupied by five or more people who are not all related and live in the property as their main home. For example, it includes:

  • Shared houses and flats occupied by students and young professionals;
  • Properties converted into bedsits with some shared facilities; and
  • Properties converted into a mixture of self-contained and non self-contained accommodation.

The government have excluded purpose built self-contained flats within a block comprising three or more self-contained flats from the mandatory HMO licensing scheme. While this will be good news for some landlords, it does make the licensing scheme far more complicated.

Read our free guide to mandatory HMO licensing to find out more (here).

2. Additional licence

In Hammersmith & Fulham you need an additional licence if your property is let as a House in Multiple Occupation that does not fall within the remit of the mandatory HMO licensing scheme. It includes properties shared by three or more people who are not all related and share facilities.

The additional licensing scheme started on 5 June 2022, continues for five years and applies borough wide. You can view a copy of the public notice in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.

Hammersmith & Fulham Council have included ‘section 257 HMOs’ within the additional licensing scheme. These are properties that:

a) have been converted into self-contained flats; and
b) less than two thirds of the flats are owner occupied; and 
c) the conversion did not comply with the relevant Building Regulations in force at that time and still does not comply.

The council have only included section 257 HMOs where none of the flats are owner occupied, the building is not owned or managed by two or more of the leasehold owners of individual flats within it (either acting individually or through a management company of which they are directors or officers), and the property is not in a designated selective licensing area. This is a complex area of law and you may need further advice.

Read our free guide to additional licensing to find out more (here). 

3. Selective Licence

In Hammersmith & Fulham you need a selective licence if your property (house or flat) is let out to a single household or two unrelated people and is on one of the designated streets.

The selective licensing scheme started on 5 June 2022, continues for five years and includes the following 24 streets:

  • Askew Road
  • Baron’s Court Road
  • Bloemfontein Road
  • Blythe Road
  • Coningham Road
  • Crookham Road
  • Dalling Road
  • Dawes Road
  • Fulham Road
  • Goldhawk Road
  • Greyhound Road
  • King Street
  • Lime Grove
  • New King’s Road
  • North End Road
  • Richmond Way
  • Scrubs Lane
  • Shepherd’s Bush Road
  • Sinclair Road
  • Talgarth Road
  • Uxbridge Road
  • Wandsworth Bridge Road
  • Wood Lane
  • Woodstock Grove

You can view a copy of the public notice in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page. You can also view the list of streets on the council’s website. 

To find out more, you can read our free guide to selective licensing (here).

How much does a licence cost?

It depends on the type of licence you are applying for.

Mandatory HMO Licence

In Hammersmith & Fulham the mandatory HMO licence fee is £1,387 for a five bedroom HMO plus £170 for each additional bedroom.

Additional or Selective Licence

In Hammersmith & Fulham the additional and selective licensing fees are £597.50 per property. 

There is a £80 discount if you are a member of an accredited landlord body such as the NRLA or the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme, or a £50 discount if you sign up to their landlord rental charter as part of the application process. You can only claim one discount so you will save most by becoming accredited

The fees we’ve listed were correct as of December 2024 but could be subject to change in the future. They can be viewed on the council’s website.

How do I apply for a licence?

Hammersmith & Fulham Council have an online property licence application system on the council’s website.

We offer a licence application handling service in Hammersmith & Fulham and you can find further information here. Simply complete the online enquiry form to get the process underway.

You can find other companies offering a licence application handling service in our Landlord Suppliers Directory (here).

It is important to remember that submitting a licence application is only the start of the licence approval process. To help landlords understand what happens next, we have published a free guide here.

Are there any standards I need to comply with?

Hammersmith & Fulham Council have published standards that apply to all HMOs licensed under the mandatory HMO or additional licensing scheme. You can view the HMO standards on the council’s website.

The HMO standards cover a range of issues such as kitchen, bathroom and toilet facilities, fire precautions, heating, lighting and ventilation.

It is important to note that new absolute minimum bedroom sizes for licensed HMOs have been introduced for HMO licence applications approved on or after 1 October 2018:

  • 4.64m2 for a child under 10 years old
  • 6.51m2 for one person over 10 years old
  • 10.22m2 for two people over 10 years old

The council can still ask for larger minimum sizes. These new minimum sizes apply throughout England to HMOs licensed under a mandatory HMO or additional licensing scheme.

How many properties has the Council licensed?

In October 2024, the Hammersmith & Fulham public register of licensed properties listed: 

  • 820 mandatory HMO licences
  • 4,446 additional licences
  • 3,839 selective licences

We noticed the public register included some expired licences so the number of current licences is unclear.

In January 2021, the council told us that most valid licence applications should be processed, a draft licence issued within 8 weeks and the final licence issued within 12 weeks. 

They explained applications for large HMOs under mandatory HMO licensing may require an inspection before the licence is granted to make sure the HMO is suitable for occupation and to assess whether any additional conditions are required.  If an inspection is necessary, it may take longer than 12 weeks to issue the licence.

While the full register can be viewed at the Council Officers or obtained by emailing phs@lbhf.gov.uk and payment of a fee of £54, an extract from the register can be viewed on the council’s website. When you click on the link, you will need to scroll down to the section ‘Register of licences’.

Are there lots of unlicensed properties still out there?

In May 2019, Hammersmith & Fulham Council told us they think there are about 717 HMOs that need a mandatory HMO licence and 5,859 that need an additional licence.

In December 2024, Hammersmith & Fulham Council told us they think there are about 6,000 properties that require a selective licence. 

If your property needs licensing but you haven’t yet applied, you should apply now to minimise the risks of non-compliance.

What happens if I don’t get a licence?

Ignore the law and you could pay a heavy price. You risk being prosecuted by the council and if found guilty you could get a criminal record, be fined an unlimited amount and ordered to pay court costs and a victim surcharge.

Alternatively, the council can issue you with a civil penalty notice of up to £30,000 for not having the correct licence without any warning being given, so this is really serious stuff.  You could also be subject to a Rent Repayment Order and may have to repay up to 12 months rental income.

Whilst the property is unlicensed, you can’t use a Notice of Seeking Possession under Section 21 Housing Act 1988 to evict your tenants. 
  
And following a successful prosecution, you would probably fail a fit and proper person assessment, making it very difficult for you to obtain a property licence in the future.

Don’t put your livelihood and reputation at risk. Make sure you comply with the law.

Does the Council take much housing enforcement action?

In London, most boroughs publish information about housing prosecutions and civil financial penalties on the Mayor of London’s ‘Rogue landlord and agent checker’. You can search the database by entering a property address, landlord / agent name or by selecting the relevant borough, available here.

How many accredited landlords are there?

There are landlord accreditation schemes operated by the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) and other organisations.  

Whilst we don’t have any figures for the NRLA scheme, we have got information about the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme that is supported by all the London Boroughs. In January 2016, they told us there were 344 accredited landlords in Hammersmith and Fulham, which was in the bottom third of all London boroughs.

January 2018: 608 accredited landlords
January 2019: 623 accredited landlords
January 2020: 687 accredited landlords
January 2021: 753 accredited landlords
January 2022: 1,045 accredited landlords
January 2023: 1,260 accredited landlords

By January 2024 there were 1,367 accredited landlords in Hammersmith & Fulham which is slightly below average when compared to all the London boroughs. To find out more about becoming accredited, you can visit the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme website here.

In addition to training and development, accredited landlords are entitled to various benefits, including discounted licensing fees in some boroughs. If you are not already a member, we would encourage you to think about joining! 

Is the Council planning to introduce any new licensing schemes?

Hammersmith & Fulham Council consulted on plans for new additional and selective licensing schemes from 10 May to 10 August 2021. A new borough wide additional licensing scheme and a selective licensing scheme covering 24 streets were approved at a Cabinet meeting on 6 December 2021 (read here – agenda item 7). The new schemes started on 5 June 2022 and continues for five years. 

You can sign up to our free newsletter for all the latest news.

Do I need planning permission for my HMO?

You will need planning permission if you are changing your property from a single-family property to a house in multiple occupation (HMO) occupied by more than six people. HMOs occupied by more than six people fall within ‘sui-generis’ use for which planning permission is required. You will also need planning permission if you a splitting up a property into smaller self-contained units of accommodation.

For small HMOs, the rules are a bit more complicated. HMOs occupied and shared by between three and six people fall into planning use class C4 whereas single-family properties fall into planning use class C3.

In December 2024, Hammersmith & Fulham Council told us there is currently no HMO Article 4 Direction. You can view information about Article 4 Directions on the council’s website.

This means that you do not need planning permission for a change of use from a single-family property (use class C3) to a small HMO shared by three to six unrelated residents (use class C4), although the situation could change in the future.

Remember that this is only intended as general advice and no liability can be accepted for any reliance upon information provided. We would strongly encourage you to contact the Council’s Planning Department or seek independent legal advice before you start a new HMO development.

Can you help me find the goods and services I need?

We certainly can. We understand the challenges of being a private landlord and so we have developed a Landlord Suppliers Directory to provide you with access to the goods and services you need. The Directory concentrates on businesses that operate in the London area.

Whether you a looking for a letting agent, want a property inventory for a new tenancy, need a legionella or fire risk assessment, or are seeking a Gas Safe registered contractor to service the boiler, we’ve got it covered – and far more besides!

As the leading experts in property licensing, we also offer a range of services ourselves. From handling the licence application process to advice on new HMO developments, we can help to ensure your property business remains compliant. If you need assistance, please drop us a line and see if we can help! 

New suppliers are regularly being added and we would encourage you to take a look. Some of our featured listings also contain YouTube videos, helping you to find out more about the business.

How do I find out more?

You can contact the council at: 

Private Sector Housing Team
Hammersmith & Fulham Council
1st Floor
Hammersmith Town Hall Extension
King Street
London
W6 9JU

Email: phs@lbhf.gov.uk
Tel: 020 8753 1703
Website: www.lbhf.gov.uk

Latest News

Consultations

Schemes

There are currently no new licensing schemes we are aware of that are being introduced in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham

Events

Opinion

At a Glance

Licence Overview

In Hammersmith & Fulham, mandatory HMO and additional licensing schemes apply borough wide and there is a selective licensing scheme covering part of the borough.

More Information

Contacting the Council

Tel: 020 8753 1703
Email: phs@lbhf.gov.uk
Weblink: Hammersmith & Fulham property licensing