Selective Licensing in Lewisham

Lewisham now has the full Newham-style stack: mandatory HMO licensing, borough-wide additional licensing for 3-4-sharer HMOs, and from 1 July 2024 a large selective licensing scheme covering almost all single-lets. Nearly every rental in the borough needs a licence.

Scheme status, boundaries, dates

Selective licensing

• Scheme start: 1 July 2024.
• End date: 30 June 2029.

Coverage: Selective licensing covers 18 of Lewisham's 19 wards, excluding Telegraph Hill and a small part of Blackheath.

The council's own line: "nearly all privately rented properties in the borough" now need a licence if not already HMO-licensed.

So in practice, if you let a single-household property anywhere in Lewisham except Telegraph Hill and a sliver of Blackheath, you need a selective licence unless it already has an HMO licence.

Additional licensing (for HMOs)

• Additional HMO scheme start: 5 April 2022.
• End: 4 April 2027.

Applies to all HMOs not caught by the mandatory scheme, i.e. 3-4 occupiers from 2+ households sharing facilities, across all Lewisham wards (no geographic carve-out).

Combined with mandatory licensing:

• 5+ sharers: mandatory HMO licence.
• 3-4 sharers: additional HMO licence.
• 1-2 people / single household in selective area: selective licence.

Fees and licence conditions

Fees

From Lewisham and independent guides:

Selective licence fee:

• GBP 640 per property for 5 years.
• Split: GBP 160 on application, GBP 480 on grant.

Discounts:

• Early-bird applications (within first 3 months of scheme): 20% discount on the second instalment.
• Accredited landlords (LLAS, NRLA, etc.) and eligible charities also get a discount on the second payment.

Mandatory and additional HMO licence fees:

• Standard fee: GBP 500 per lettable unit (per "household").
• Example: a 5-bed shared house with 5 unrelated tenants: GBP 2,500 application fee.

One of the highest per-bed HMO fee structures in the country, second only to Lambeth.

Licence conditions

Lewisham's Private Rented Sector Licensing and Enforcement Policy spells out what you are signing up to:

Property standards:

• Meet all relevant housing standards and be free from serious hazards.
• Comply with minimum room sizes and amenity standards.

Safety:

• Working smoke alarms and CO alarms.
• Valid gas safety certificate, EICR, and EPC.

Management:

• Licence holder must be "fit and proper".
• Provide tenants with contact details and respond to repairs / complaints.
• Keep records of inspections and remedial works.

Tenancy management / ASB:

• Written tenancy agreements.
• Proper deposit protection.
• Reasonable steps to deal with antisocial behaviour and nuisance.

Conditions are similar across selective and HMO licences, with extra detail for HMOs (fire precautions, amenity ratios, etc.).

Penalties, enforcement and exemptions

Penalties and enforcement

Lewisham's enforcement policy is blunt:

Operating a property that requires a selective or HMO licence without a valid licence is a criminal offence.

The council can:

• Prosecute with unlimited fines.
• Issue civil penalties as an alternative, up to GBP 30,000 per offence.
• Apply for Rent Repayment Orders (RROs) where tenants or the council can recover up to 12 months' rent or benefits.

Lewisham's policy explicitly states it will pursue enforcement against unlicensed landlords and that licensing now applies to "the vast majority of landlords in Lewisham".

Exemptions

Standard exemptions apply:

• Properties already holding a mandatory or additional HMO licence (do not also need selective).
• Registered providers / housing associations and most council-owned homes.
• Certain holiday lets and business tenancies.
• Some student halls / PBSA arrangements.

The selective scheme is deliberately broad; exemptions are relatively narrow.

Application process

Landlords apply via Lewisham's online Metastreet licensing portal: lewisham.metastreet.co.uk.

Application split into two payments: first at submission, second on approval.

You need:

• Details of the licence holder and manager, including "fit and proper" declarations.
• Property details and occupation.
• Proof of identity and ownership.
• EPC, gas safety certificate, EICR.
• Card payment for Part 1 fee.

Lewisham strongly pushes landlords to apply early for the 20% early-bird discount and makes clear that operating unlicensed while "waiting to see" is an offence, not a grey area.

Impact on the Lewisham rental market and landlord response

The scheme covers around 20,000 privately rented properties and brings "nearly all privately rented properties" into licensing when combined with HMO schemes.

Council's stated aims (and evidence base): High levels of poor property conditions and homelessness driven by PRS evictions. Selective licensing used to reduce the gap between good and bad landlords and raise standards.

Market effects so far (from council and trade coverage):

Conditions: Council expects to inspect thousands of homes over the 5-year period; early data is still emerging, but the direction is more inspections and more enforcement, not less.

Landlord behaviour: A chunk of smaller, more marginal landlords have either sold or are in the process of selling, citing licence costs and scrutiny. Larger and more professional operators are absorbing the GBP 640 selective + GBP 2,500 HMO fees as a cost of doing business where rents support it.

Rents: Lewisham's rents were already rising with the wider SE London market; licensing costs (around GBP 128/year for a 5-year selective licence) are small relative to annual rent, so pricing impact seems modest but non-zero.

Landlord response / legal challenges: As with Newham, landlord bodies argued fees were high and evidence incomplete, but DLUHC approved the scheme. There has been criticism in trade press about Lewisham's per-room HMO fees being among the highest, but no successful legal challenge overturning the scheme.

Lewisham vs Newham

Both boroughs now sit in the "full-stack" camp, but there are differences.

Bottom line: Newham is the "OG" borough-wide scheme with the longest enforcement track record; Lewisham has essentially copied the model, with slightly lower selective fees but extremely high per-room HMO fees and borough-wide additional licensing.

What Lewisham forums get wrong

Myth 1: "Selective licensing is just a small pilot, most of Lewisham is untouched."

Reality: The scheme from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2029 covers 18 wards, excluding only Telegraph Hill and a small part of Blackheath. Council says "nearly all privately rented properties" now need a licence.

Myth 2: "Only HMOs need licences; single-lets are exempt."

Reality: If you rent to a single person, two people or one household in the selective area, you still need a selective licence unless an HMO licence already applies.

Myth 3: "Lewisham doesn't have additional licensing, just mandatory."

Reality: A borough-wide additional HMO scheme started 5 April 2022 - 4 April 2027, covering all HMOs not caught by mandatory licensing (3-4 sharing).

Myth 4: "Fees are small and the council doesn't really enforce."

Reality: HMO fees are GBP 500 per household (e.g. GBP 2,500 for a 5-bed), selective is GBP 640, and the Enforcement Policy promises civil penalties and RROs for unlicensed operation or condition breaches.

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