Council licensing · London

Licensing in Bexley

Bexley has selective licensing in 1 ward.

Researched 14 October 2026 · Independently checked 14 October 2026

Check a specific address in Bexley

We match the postcode to its ward and the schemes below.

Licensing, ward by ward

Tap a ward, or focus it with your keyboard, to see its name and recorded coverage.

Selective licensing area1
National rules only16

Current ONS ward boundaries. Exemptions apply. Use the postcode check and scheme details for your property.

Selective licensing: 1 ward
Additional HMO licensing: No
Article 4 on house shares: Yes
Consultation: None open

Licensing schemes

Selective licence
In force
The London Borough of Bexley Selective Licensing Scheme 2024 (London Borough of Bexley Designation for an Area for Selective Licensing)
Area
Belvedere Ward only, as edged red on the designation map at Annex A. The council's online checker confirms whether an address is inside the area.
1 ward, as named in the designation (current wards (Belvedere ward as listed in the ONS 2024 ward lookup for E09000004)):
Belvedere
Runs
13 January 2025 to 12 January 2030
Fee
£830 for 5 years
£350 non-refundable application fee plus £480 payable before grant, for £830 in total. Landlords or agents accredited when they apply get a £50 discount. No early-bird rate is shown on the current page; the 2024 consultation had proposed one. Licence holders or agents must become accredited within 12 months of the licence being issued. The fees page shows no 'last updated' date.
Who needs one
Any house or flat let or occupied under a tenancy or licence in Belvedere ward, unless it is an HMO requiring a Part 2 licence or otherwise exempt. Each licensable unit in a building needs its own licence.
Exemptions
HMOs licensable under Part 2; tenancies granted by registered providers or registered social landlords; properties under management orders or EDMOs; properties with a temporary exemption notice (s86); and the statutory exempt tenancies in Annex B. Annex B covers prohibition orders, business, licensed-premises and agricultural tenancies, public-body landlords, regulated accommodation, specified student lettings, long leases over 21 years, family-member lettings and similar. Properties leased to the council as emergency accommodation are also exempt. Landlords on the council's cash incentives scheme are not exempt.
Notes
The Cabinet Member for Communities & Housing approved the scheme on 22 Aug 2024 (effective 4 Sep 2024); that decision said it would start on 1 Jan 2025. The designation itself, made on 3 Oct 2024, sets 13 Jan 2025, and the designation date governs. It needed no Secretary of State approval because it covers less than 20% of the borough. Applications opened on 5 Nov 2024. Selective licences all expire when the scheme ends (12 Jan 2030), so licences granted later run for less than 5 years. Bexley's earlier selective scheme ran from 1 Oct 2018 to 31 Aug 2023 in 11 LSOAs across four areas: Thamesmead North, Abbey Wood/Lower Belvedere, Erith and Manor Road. Outside Belvedere, those areas are no longer licensable. The 'Selective licence designation notice' in the sidebar of the schemes page still links to the 2020 PDF for the old scheme. The live page also still quotes a £30,000 maximum penalty, while the 2026 enforcement policy says £40,000.
Apply on the council site Licence conditions Designation or map
Sources
Mandatory HMO licence
In force
Mandatory HMO licensing (Housing Act 2004 Part 2)
Area
National scheme, applies across the whole borough.
Fee
Not yet confirmed
New licence: £350 plus £330 per letting. Renewal: £350 plus £205 per letting. Accredited landlords or agents get a £50 discount. There is no single flat figure because the fee depends on the number of lettings; a 5-letting HMO would be £350 + 5 x £330 = £2,000, calculated from the per-letting rate. Late renewals are treated as new applications.
Who needs one
HMOs occupied by 5 or more people forming 2 or more households.
Notes
Included because the council publishes its own mandatory HMO fee. Bexley has no additional HMO licensing scheme. A July 2024 scrutiny report records a decision not to proceed with one after the 2021 'Rent it Right' consultation, and to keep monitoring HMOs instead. If a landlord has no planning permission, a licence may first be granted for 12-18 months.
Apply on the council site Licence conditions
Sources
- bexley.gov.uk: property licensing schemes
- bexley.gov.uk: guide to property licensing

Article 4 for house shares

Bexley has an Article 4 direction on houses in multiple occupation. Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission.

Area: The whole council area
Takes effect: 24 September 2017

Council source

Civil penalty policy

The council's policy sets how it decides the size of a fine. The version we found has been updated for the Renters' Rights Act.

The Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy 2026 (uploaded Jul 2026, PDF dated Apr 2026) covers the Renters' Rights Act 2025 duties and powers. The maximum is £40,000 for offences, including failure to license, and £7,000 for lower-tier breaches. The civil penalties matrix uses MHCLG statutory-guidance starting points: failure to obtain a selective licence £12,000 (£9,600 to £14,400 after the Landlord Type adjustment); failure to obtain an HMO licence £17,000 (£13,600 to £20,400). The Landlord Type adjustment is +20% (6+ properties ever, 3+ HMOs, corporate landlord or director, or significant experience) or -20% (2 or fewer properties, at most 1 HMO and very limited experience). Aggravating and mitigating factors are each capped at +/-20% of the starting point except in exceptional cases, followed by financial considerations and totality. The council sets its own starting levels for breaches of licence conditions.

Bexley's civil penalty policy

Consultations

Designation of a Selective Licensing Scheme covering Belvedere wardApproved
Closed 3 April 2024

Not yet confirmed

These points were unresolved when we researched Bexley on 14 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

Not yet confirmed
The fees page shows no last-updated date, so the date of the current fee table (selective £350 + £480; HMO £350 + £330 per letting) is unconfirmed.
Not yet confirmed
Public pages still quote a £30,000 maximum civil penalty and 12-month rent repayment orders, while the 2026 enforcement policy says £40,000. Landlord-facing copy is out of date, but the policy governs.
Not yet confirmed
The start date differs between sources: the 22 Aug 2024 decision record says 1 Jan 2025, while the designation notice and licensing page say 13 Jan 2025. The 13 Jan 2025 date from the designation is used.
Not yet confirmed
Not independently re-checked (verification of 2026-10-14): the 11 LSOAs of the 2018-2023 selective scheme (the consultation page confirms only its 1 Oct 2018 to 31 Aug 2023 dates) and the July 2024 scrutiny decision not to pursue additional licensing.

Landlord register

Licensing is separate from the national landlord register. Bexley is in London, where the planned registration window runs from 15 July 2027 to 14 October 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Register dates, fee and documents