Council licensing · London
Licensing in Lambeth
Lambeth has selective licensing in 23 wards and additional HMO licensing across the whole council area.
Researched 14 October 2026 · Independently checked 14 October 2026
Check a specific address in Lambeth
We match the postcode to its ward and the schemes below.
Licensing, ward by ward
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- Selective licensing area23
- Additional HMO licensing area2
Additional HMO licensing also covers the whole council area.
Current ONS ward boundaries. Exemptions apply. Use the postcode check and scheme details for your property.
- Selective licensing
- 23 wards
- Additional HMO licensing
- Yes, whole council area
- Article 4 on house shares
- Yes
- Consultation
- None open
Licensing schemes
Selective licence
In forceLondon Borough of Lambeth Designations 1 of an Area for Selective Licensing 2024 (Phase 1)
- Area
Four Streatham-area wards, shown green on the map at Annex A of the designation notice.
4 wards, as named in the designation (2022 wards (Lambeth's current 25-ward pattern; the council describes the scheme as covering 23 of 25 wards)):
- Knights Hill
- Streatham Common & Vale
- Streatham Hill East
- Streatham St Leonards
- Runs
- 2 September 2024 to 1 September 2029
- Fee
£1,025 for 5 years
Fees effective from 1 April 2026: Part A £717.50 on application, Part B £307.50 after approval, taken before the licence is issued. Discounts are applied after the draft licence is issued: £50 off Part B for EPC C or better; £75 for an accredited licence holder (LLAS, NRLA, UKALA) or a member of ARLA, RICS or Safeagent; £100 off Part A for each additional flat in the same block, under common ownership and management, when all applications are made at the same time.
- Who needs one
- Every privately rented house or flat in the designated wards let under a tenancy or licence to a single-family household or to no more than 2 unrelated sharers.
- Exemptions
- Mandatory HMOs and HMOs licensable under Lambeth's additional licensing designation; tenancies granted by a registered social landlord; properties under an interim or final management order; properties with a temporary exemption notice; tenancies exempt under SI 2006/370 (Selective Licensing of Houses (Specified Exemptions) (England) Order 2006).
- Notes
- The designation was made on 22 May 2024 and did not need Secretary of State confirmation. The council page says Phase 1 came into force on Monday 2 September 2024. The council's own pages now state penalties of up to £40,000 and rent repayment orders of up to 24 months; the 2024 designation notice still states £30,000 and 12 months. Lambeth's 2025 decision report gives the licence term as up to five years. The council page spells the wards 'Streatham Common and Vale' and 'Streatham St. Leonard's'.
Selective licence
In forceLondon Borough of Lambeth Phase 2 Designations for Areas for Selective Licensing 2025
- Area
Nineteen wards. With Phase 1, this covers every Lambeth ward except Vauxhall and Waterloo & South Bank. The designation map is Annex A of the Phase 2 notice on the Have Your Say project page. The council's ward checker (https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/9dbda0725bce4175be464cd9d546a49d/) shows which ward an address is in.
19 wards, as named in the designation (2022 wards (Lambeth's current 25-ward pattern)):
- Brixton Acre Lane
- Brixton North
- Brixton Rush Common
- Brixton Windrush
- Clapham Common & Abbeville
- Clapham East
- Clapham Park
- Clapham Town
- Gipsy Hill
- Herne Hill & Loughborough Junction
- Kennington
- Myatt's Fields
- Oval
- St Martins
- Stockwell East
- Stockwell West & Larkhall
- Streatham Hill West & Thornton
- Streatham Wells
- West Dulwich
- Runs
- 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2030
- Fee
£1,025 for 5 years
Same fee schedule as Phase 1 (effective 1 April 2026): Part A £717.50 and Part B £307.50. Discounts: £50 for EPC C or better, £75 for accreditation or membership, and £100 off Part A for each additional flat in the same block.
- Who needs one
- Every privately rented house or flat in the designated wards let under a tenancy or licence to a single-family household or to no more than 2 unrelated sharers.
- Exemptions
- Same as Phase 1: mandatory HMOs and additional-licensable HMOs, registered social landlord tenancies, properties under management orders, properties with a temporary exemption, and tenancies exempt under SI 2006/370.
- Notes
- The designation notice (Designation of 19 Wards Public Notice Final.pdf) and the Cabinet Member delegated decision of 15 May 2025 (CMMDR Implementation of the 2nd Phase Selective Licensing Scheme.pdf) are attached to the 'Implementation of Phase 2' stage of the Have Your Say project. Their direct file links are signed and expire, so the project page is cited instead. The notice says the designation was confirmed on 23 May 2025 and needed no Secretary of State confirmation. It came into force on 1 September 2025 and ceases on 31 August 2030. Ward names are listed exactly as the designation table prints them, including 'Brixton North Ward'; the council web page uses 'Brixton North', 'Myatt's Field' and 'St. Martin's'. The council originally applied to MHCLG for approval in December 2024. After the government replaced the 2015 General Approval on 23 December 2024, Lambeth approved the designation itself. The May 2025 decision report proposed July 2025 to June 2030, but the published notice dates (1 September 2025 to 31 August 2030) govern. Early applications opened on 1 August 2025. Ward names use the official ONS spellings; the council's page writes "Myatt's Field" for the ward ONS names "Myatt's Fields".
Additional HMO licence
In forceLondon Borough of Lambeth Designation of an Area for Additional Licensing
- Area
The whole of the London Borough of Lambeth, delineated in red on Map 1 of the designation notice.
- Runs
- 9 December 2021 to 8 December 2026
- Fee
£550 for 5 years
£550 per habitable room (a room used for sleeping), effective 1 April 2026. Split two-thirds Part A and one-third Part B: for a 1-letting HMO, Part A £366.67 and Part B £183.33. Accredited or member licence holders get £75 off Part B. The renewal discount has been withdrawn, so renewals pay the same rate. Section 257 applications are charged per self-contained flat. No discount applies after two requests for documents or after a warning letter.
- Who needs one
- Privately rented HMOs occupied by 3 or more people forming 2 or more households that are not subject to mandatory HMO licensing. This includes multiply occupied flats in purpose-built blocks of more than two flats. It also includes section 257 converted blocks that do not meet the 1991 Building Regulations where less than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied.
- Exemptions
- Mandatory HMOs; buildings listed in Schedule 14 of the Housing Act 2004 (public-sector and registered-provider managed, certain student accommodation run by educational establishments, co-operatives, religious communities, buildings regulated under other enactments); single households or 2 persons; properties under a temporary exemption notice or interim management order.
- Notes
- EXPIRES 8 December 2026, less than two months after this research date. The notice (signed 8 September 2021, approved by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness on 4 August 2021) says it ceases on 8 December 2026 unless revoked earlier. As of 14 October 2026 there is no fetched evidence of a renewal or replacement: no licensing project on Lambeth's Have Your Say platform (checked via its project API), no licensing items in the Lambeth moderngov decision list from June 2025, and none in the 2026 Forward Plans of Key Decisions. A new designation normally needs a consultation of at least 10 weeks, so a gap after 8 December 2026 looks likely. The selective designations exclude HMOs licensable under this designation; how small HMOs will be treated if it lapses is not stated. The notice cited a £30,000 maximum penalty, while the current council page states £40,000.
Mandatory HMO licence
In forceMandatory HMO licensing (Housing Act 2004, Part 2)
- Area
National scheme applying across the whole borough.
- Fee
£550 for 5 years
Lambeth publishes one HMO fee table: £550 per habitable room or letting, effective 1 April 2026. A 5-letting HMO costs £2,750 (Part A £1,833.33, Part B £916.67). Accreditation gives £75 off Part B. There is no renewal discount.
- Who needs one
- HMOs occupied by 5 or more people forming more than one household and sharing facilities.
- Exemptions
- Statutory exemptions under Schedule 14 of the Housing Act 2004.
- Notes
- The council warns that a licence not renewed before expiry loses the right to relicense at the renewal rate and may face formal action. The renewal discount itself has since been withdrawn. Lambeth moved HMO licensing to the Metastreet system from 17 March 2023.
Article 4 for house shares
Lambeth has an Article 4 direction on houses in multiple occupation. Turning a family home into a shared house may need planning permission.
- Area
- Specific areas: the Streatham Common & Vale and Streatham St Leonard's wards only (Targeted HMO Article 4 Direction 2024, withdrawing Class L(b) C3 to C4 permitted development).
- Takes effect
- 11 August 2025
Civil penalty policy
The council's policy sets how it decides the size of a fine. The version we found has not been updated for the Renters' Rights Act.
The only policy linked from the council site is the Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy (July 2018), whose Appendix 3 is the Civil Penalties and Rent Repayment Order Policy. It still refers to a £30,000 maximum and the Housing and Planning Act 2016. Method: culpability (very high, high, medium, low) is set against harm category 1 to 3 to give a band. Bands and starting points: Band 1 £0-£4,999 (start £2,500), Band 2 £5,000-£9,999 (£7,500), Band 3 £10,000-£14,999 (£12,500), Band 4 £15,000-£19,999 (£17,500), Band 5 £20,000-£24,999 (£22,500), Band 6 £25,000-£30,000 (£27,500). Each aggravating or mitigating factor moves the penalty by £1,000. The council then reviews assets and income for proportionality. Mitigation listed includes voluntary steps such as submitting a licence application. Penalties can be issued to both landlord and agent. The council's licensing web pages already quote the post-Renters' Rights Act figures (up to £40,000 and up to 24 months' rent repayment), but no updated penalty matrix was found.
Consultations
Not yet confirmed
These points were unresolved when we researched Lambeth on 14 October 2026. Check them with the council before you rely on them.
- Not yet confirmed
Additional HMO designation ends 8 December 2026. Is Lambeth renewing or replacing it? No consultation, decision or forward-plan entry was found as of 2026-10-14. Confirm with HMOLicensing@lambeth.gov.uk or the council's next Forward Plan.
- Not yet confirmed
If the additional designation lapses, do 3-4 person HMOs in the selective wards fall under selective licensing? The selective designations only exclude HMOs licensable under the 2021 additional designation.
- Not yet confirmed
Selective licence conditions document not located on the council site (conditions_url null).
- Not yet confirmed
The Have Your Say platform gives the 2023-24 selective consultation as 11 December 2023 to 5 March 2024; the exact closing date was not confirmed from a stable document.
- Not yet confirmed
Lambeth's civil penalty matrix (2018) predates the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Check whether a revised policy has been adopted but not yet published.
Landlord register
Licensing is separate from the national landlord register. Lambeth 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