London Borough of Lewisham

If you need help understanding the property licensing rules in Lewisham 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 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 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 three property licensing schemes operating in Lewisham. We will help you choose the right licence for your property:

1. Mandatory HMO licence

In Lewisham 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 more complicated.

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

2. Additional licence

In Lewisham you need an additional licence if your property is let as a House in Multiple Occupation that falls outside the remit of mandatory HMO licensing. It includes properties shared by three or four people who are not all related and share facilities.

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

Lewisham Council have excluded ‘section 257 HMOs: certain converted blocks of flats’ from the scheme. These are properties that:

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

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

3. Selective licence

In Lewisham you need a selective licence if your property is occupied by a single household or two unrelated sharers in the one of the following council wards: 

Designation 1:  Brockley, Catford South, Lewisham Central, New Cross, Perry Vale and Rushey Green.

Designation 2: Crofton Park, Evelyn, Ladywell, Lee Green and Sydenham.

Designation 3: Bellingham, Downham, Forest Hill, Grove Park and Whitefoot.

The selective licensing scheme started on 1 July 2024 and continues for five years. You can view the public notice in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page. 

To make matters more complicated, the scheme is based on council ward boundaries that existed pre-May 2022. You can use the postcode checker on the council’s website to check if your property is within the selective licensing area.

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

How much does a licence cost?

Mandatory HMO and additional licence

Lewisham Council charge an HMO licence application fee of £500 per household or bedroom. A licence to rent your property to five unrelated people costs £2,500.

There are some discounts available, including for registered charities and accredited landlords.

Selective licence

Lewisham Council charge a selective licence application fee of £640 per property which is payable in two instalments.

There are some discounts available, including for registered charities and accredited landlords.

The fees we have listed were correct as of December 2025, although they could be subject to change in the future. Mandatory HMO and additional licensing fees can be viewed here and selective licensing fees can be viewed here.

How do I apply for a licence?

Lewisham Council have an online application system to submit mandatory HMO, additional and selective licence applications which you can access here.

We offer a licence application handling service in Lewisham 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. We have published a free guide to help landlords understand what happens next (here).

Are there any standards I need to comply with?

Lewisham Council’s HMO guidance can be viewed on the council’s website.

The guidance covers a range of issues such as kitchen, bathroom and toilet facilities, fire precautions, heating, lighting, ventilation and room sizes.

The government have introduced absolute minimum bedroom sizes that apply to all licensed HMOs:

  • 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 minimum sizes apply throughout England to HMOs licensed under a mandatory HMO or additional licensing scheme.

How many properties has the Council licensed?

In July 2022, there were 977 licensed HMOs in Lewisham Council’s public register, including 805 under the mandatory HMO licensing and 172 under the additional licensing schemes.

Lewisham Council keeps a public register of licensed properties that can be viewed on the council’s website.

Are there lots of unlicensed properties still out there?

In May 2019, Lewisham Council told us they think there could be 1,250 properties that require licensing under the mandatory HMO licensing scheme.

Lewisham Council think 4,750 properties need licensing under their additional licensing scheme and about 20,000 properties need licensing under their selective licensing scheme.

If you are a landlord operating without a licence, you should apply now to achieve 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 391 accredited landlords in Lewisham, which placed them just above the bottom third of all London boroughs.

January 2018: 692 accredited landlords
January 2019: 729 accredited landlords
January 2020: 808 accredited landlords
January 2021: 939 accredited landlords
January 2022: 1,179 accredited landlords
January 2023: 1,301 accredited landlords
January 2024: 1,468 accredited landlords

By January 2025, there were 1,607 accredited landlords, 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?

From 28 May to 21 August 2019, Lewisham Council consulted on plans to implement borough wide additional and selective licensing schemes. You can find out more information on the council’s website.

On 11 March 2020, the council approved plans for borough wide additional and selective licensing schemes. Following a delay caused by the pandemic, the council made a borough wide additional licensing scheme designation on 29 October 2021 and the scheme started on 5 April 2022.

Meanwhile, Lewisham Council consulted on new selective licensing proposals from from 20 October 2021 to 4 February 2022. Due to concerns expressed about the consultation process, they stopped the consultation early and launched a new selective licensing consultation from 21 January to 21 May 2022. The council proposed three separate designations covering most of the borough, with only the Blackheath and Telegraph Hill wards excluded. You can find out more about the consultation on the council’s website. 

In March 2023, Lewisham Council announced they were seeking government approval to implement a large selective licensing scheme covering an estimated 20,000 private rented properties. On 30 November 2023 the Secretary of State approved the scheme and it came into force on 1 July 2024. You can view a copy of the scheme designation in the ‘At a Glance’ box on the top right of this page.

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Do I need planning permission for my HMO?

You 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 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.

On 16 January 2019, Lewisham Council’s Mayor and Cabinet approved plans to implement a non-immediate HMO Article 4 Direction in the council wards of Bellingham, Downham, Whitefoot and Grove Park and the HMO Article 4 Direction came into force on 7 March 2020.

From that date, planning permission is required to change a single-family home (use class C3) to an HMO with up to six occupants (use class C4) within the designated area. So even letting your property to three people who are not all related could require planning permission.

Meanwhile, on 6 July 2022, Lewisham Council’s Mayor and Cabinet approved plans to implement a non-immediate HMO Article 4 Direction covering the rest of the borough and the HMO Article 4 Direction came into force on 19 January 2024. 

The changes are not retrospective and so properties converted from use class C3 to C4 under permitted development rules before an HMO Article 4 Direction came into force are not affected. You can find out more information on the council’s website.

Remember that this is 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 understand the challenges of being a private landlord and have created a Landlord Suppliers Directory to help you find 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, need a fire risk assessment or an EPC, we have 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 representation at First-tier Tribunal appeals, we help to ensure your property business remains compliant. If you need assistance, please drop us a line.

How do I find out more?

You can contact the council at: 

Environmental Health Residential Team
Lewisham Council
Laurence House
1 Catford Road
London SE6 4RU

Email: pshe@lewisham.gov.uk
Tel: 020 8314 6420
Website: www.lewisham.gov.uk 

Latest News

Consultations

There are currently no licensing consultations we are aware of in the London Borough of Lewisham

Schemes

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

Events

Opinion

At a Glance

Licence Overview

In Lewisham, mandatory HMO and additional licensing schemes apply borough wide and a selective licensing scheme covers a large part of the borough.

More Information

Contacting the Council

Tel: 020 8314 6420
Email: pshe@lewisham.gov.uk
Weblink: Lewisham property licensing