LetLens / Licensing by council / Lambeth
Landlord licensing in Lambeth
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Lambeth let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Lambeth also runs additional HMO licensing and selective licensing, which can bring smaller HMOs, or every private rental, into licensing.
The licence you need turns on who lives in the property. Find the line that describes your let.
- Required by national lawThe same in all 296 English councils. Not a Lambeth decision.
Your propertyLet to 5 or more people forming 2 or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet
You needMandatory HMO licence In force England-wide
It costs£2,750 for a 5-bedroom HMO£550 base + £550/bedroom over 1
WhereEverywhere in Lambeth, as everywhere in England. Scope, fee schedule and source
- What Lambeth requires on topSchemes this council chose to run, and what differs from the council next door.
Your propertyA smaller shared house the national scheme does not reach, typically 3 or 4 sharers forming 2 or more households
You needAdditional HMO licence In force
It costs£2,200 for a 4-bedroom HMO£550 base + £550/bedroom over 1
WhereEverywhere in Lambeth. Scope, fee schedule and source
Your propertyLet privately inside a designated area, whether or not it is an HMO
You needSelective licence In force
It costs£1,025, the same for a rental of any size
Where23 designated wards, not the whole of Lambeth. Scope, fee schedule and source
- Planning permission, a separate questionNot licensing. Whether you may create an HMO at all, decided by the council’s planning side.
Your planConverting a house (use class C3) into a small HMO (use class C4)
You needPlanning permission In force in part of the council (8.6%)
WhereInside the designated area: Streatham Common & Vale and Streatham St Leonard's. Outside it the right still applies. The direction, its dates and its boundary
Each fee is for the example property named on its own line, from the council’s published schedule. Other sizes are priced separately; the full schedules, discounts and surcharges are below.
Or open SW2 5AN, a postcode near the centre of Lambeth, to see what a full report looks like.
Each scheme in detail, and the evidence behind it
Which properties each scheme catches in Lambeth, in the council’s own words, with the designations in force, the whole published fee schedule and the source for every figure. The three regimes can stack: a property can need a licence under one and still be caught by another.
Mandatory HMO licensing In force England-wide
Fee, 5-bed HMO£2,750£550 base + £550/bedroom over 1
- Where it applies
- National scheme
- Which properties
- 5 or more people forming 2 or more households, sharing a toilet, bathroom or kitchen (statutory mandatory HMO licensing, borough-wide)
The published fee schedule
- Base fee
- £550
- Base fee, paid in two parts
- £366.67 on application, then £183.33 when the licence is granted
- Size charge
- £550 per bedroom above 1
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- 2026/27
Discounts
- Accredited landlord / recognised-scheme member (LLAS, NRLA, UKALA, ARLA, RICS, Safeagent): £75
Additional HMO licensing In force
Fee, 4-bed HMO£2,200£550 base + £550/bedroom over 1
- Where it applies
- Council-wide
- Which properties
- Smaller HMOs occupied by 3 or more persons forming 2 or more households not caught by mandatory licensing, including HMO flats in purpose-built blocks of more than two flats, and section 257 HMOs (buildings converted into self-contained flats not compliant with the 1991 Building Regulations where fewer than two-thirds are owner-occupied)
- Designations in force
- Additional HMO Licensing Designation 2021 (borough-wide)
- Designation period
- 9 December 2021 to 8 December 2026
The published fee schedule, identical to the mandatory scheme’s
- Base fee
- £550
- Base fee, paid in two parts
- £366.67 on application, then £183.33 when the licence is granted
- Size charge
- £550 per bedroom above 1
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- 2026/27
Discounts
- Accredited landlord / recognised-scheme member (LLAS, NRLA, UKALA, ARLA, RICS, Safeagent): £75
Selective licensing In force
Licence fee, any size£1,025
- Where it applies
- 23 designated wards
- Which properties
- Any privately rented property let to a single-family household, or to a household of no more than 2 unrelated sharers, in the designated wards
- Designations in force
- Selective Licensing Designation 1 2024 (Phase 1, 4 wards)
Selective Licensing Designation 2 2025 (Phase 2, 19 wards) - Designation period
- 2 September 2024 to 1 September 2029
1 September 2025 to 31 August 2030
Selective Licensing Designation 1 2024 (Phase 1, 4 wards) covers Knight's Hill, Streatham Common and Vale, Streatham Hill East, Streatham St. Leonard's.
Selective Licensing Designation 2 2025 (Phase 2, 19 wards) covers Brixton Acre Lane, Brixton North, Brixton Rush Common, Brixton Windrush, Clapham Common and Abbeville, Clapham East, Clapham Park, Clapham Town, Gipsy Hill, Herne Hill and Loughborough Junction, Kennington, Myatt's Fields, Oval, St Martin's, Stockwell East, Stockwell West and Larkhall, Streatham Hill West and Thornton, Streatham Wells, West Dulwich.
The published fee schedule
- Fee
- £1,025
- Paid in two parts
- £717.50 on application, then £307.50 when the licence is granted
- Licence term
- Up to 5 years
- Fee schedule dated
- 2026/27
Discounts
- EPC rating C or better: £50
- Accredited landlord / recognised-scheme member (LLAS, NRLA, UKALA, ARLA, RICS, Safeagent): £75
- Additional flat in same block (2nd and subsequent flats, common ownership/management, applied same time): £100
Article 4 and HMO planning permission in Lambeth In force in part of the council (8.6%)
An HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Lambeth covering Streatham Common & Vale and Streatham St Leonard's, so the permitted-development right to convert a house (C3) into a small HMO (C4) has been removed and planning permission is needed there. We hold 533 of Lambeth's 6,168 postcodes inside a designated area, about 8.6% of the council. Most of the council is outside it, so the right still applies to the majority of addresses here.
HMO Article 4 direction, Streatham Common & Vale and Streatham St Leonard's
- Area
- Streatham Common & Vale and Streatham St Leonard's
- Right removed
- GPDO Schedule 2 Part 3 Class L(b) - change of use from a dwellinghouse (Use Class C3) to a small HMO (Use Class C4)
- Made
- 7 August 2024
- Confirmed
- 24 July 2025
- In force from
- 11 August 2025
A licence is not planning permission
These are two separate consents from two separate parts of the council, and getting one does not give you the other. A licensing team can grant an HMO licence for a property that needed planning permission and never got it.
Where the permission was needed and is missing, the usual consequence lands on the licence. Councils commonly grant a short licence, often twelve months rather than the full term, to give the owner time to apply. If permission is not applied for, is refused, or an appeal fails, the council will generally refuse to extend and let the licence expire, and will generally refuse a fresh application outright once permission has been finally refused. At that point the property cannot lawfully be let as an HMO at all.
This is council practice rather than a statutory rule, and it varies, so confirm it with Lambeth before you rely on it. Nottingham City Council publishes its version explicitly and is quoted here as a worked example of the approach.
The research note behind this verdict
What happens if you let without a licence
Letting or managing an unlicensed property that needs a licence is a criminal offence, under section 72 of the Housing Act 2004 for an HMO and section 95 for a property caught by selective licensing. A council can prosecute, or impose a civil penalty instead. For conduct on or after 1 May 2026 that penalty can be up to £40,000 per offence, raised from £30,000 by the Financial Penalties (Housing Offences and Breach of Banning Orders) Regulations 2026. Tenants and the council can also apply for a rent repayment order, which for conduct from the same date can claw back up to two years of rent, up from one, under section 103 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
Both of those maxima apply only to conduct on or after 1 May 2026. Earlier conduct is still judged against the old £30,000 and twelve-month limits. Each breach is normally penalised separately, so an unlicensed portfolio in Lambeth multiplies the exposure rather than capping it.
The letting market in Lambeth
Licensing is only one side of the sum. These are medians from real listings we have collected, with the number of listings behind each one, because a median over a handful of adverts is a different claim from a median over hundreds.
- Median room rent£938 pcmFrom 1,080 room listings in Lambeth.
- Median whole-property rent£2,366 pcmFrom 300 whole-property listings.
- Typical 4-bed rent£3,719 pcmThe comparison a room-by-room let is measured against.
- HMO income premium+26%Five rooms let individually against one four-bedroom whole-property let, before the extra cost, licensing and voids that come with an HMO.
- Median sale price£525,000Across 696 sales in 2026, all property types, HM Land Registry.
- Gross yield, whole let5.4%Median whole-property rent for a year against the median sale price. Before voids, management, repairs, licensing and finance, all of which a real return has to carry.
- Gross yield, 5-room HMO10.7%Five rooms at the median room rent against the same median sale price. The higher figure is what pays for the licence, the extra management and the higher voids, rather than being profit on top of them.
- Typical household income£53,636Mean of net small-area median incomes around the council's main listing areas, not a council-wide median.
- Postcodes with flood exposure18.0%1,111 of 6,168 indexed postcodes.
- Postcodes in Flood Zone 31,045 (16.9%)The Environment Agency's highest-probability zone. Lenders and insurers ask about this one by name, and it is a subset of the exposure above.
Room rent by outcode
Room rent varies by £150 a month across Lambeth’s outcodes, so the council-wide median above is a starting point rather than the answer for a particular street.
| Outcode | Median room rent | Room listings | Check a postcode |
|---|---|---|---|
| SW9 | £1,000 pcm | 278 | Check SW9 |
| SW2 | £975 pcm | 354 | Check SW2 |
| SW8 | £890 pcm | 31 | Check SW8 |
| SW16 | £867 pcm | 341 | Check SW16 |
| SW4 | £850 pcm | 21 | Check SW4 |
Postcode districts in Lambeth
Licensing, Article 4 and the fee all turn on the exact address, because a designated area rarely follows the council boundary. LetLens holds 6,168 Lambeth postcodes. Open one of its postcode districts to see the verdict, the local rent evidence and the investment model.
Common questions
Do I need an HMO licence in Lambeth?
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England, so a property in Lambeth let to five or more people forming two or more households, who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, needs a licence. Lambeth also runs additional HMO licensing and selective licensing, which can bring smaller HMOs, or every private rental, into licensing. Additional HMO licensing applies across the whole council. Selective licensing covers 23 designated wards.
How much does an HMO licence cost in Lambeth?
£2,750 for a five-bedroom, five-person HMO under the mandatory scheme, from the council's published fee schedule. Fee basis: £550 base + £550/bedroom over 1. Larger or smaller properties, and any additional or selective scheme, are priced separately.
Is there an Article 4 direction in Lambeth?
An HMO Article 4 direction is in force in Lambeth covering Streatham Common & Vale and Streatham St Leonard's, so the permitted-development right to convert a house (C3) into a small HMO (C4) has been removed and planning permission is needed there. We hold 533 of Lambeth's 6,168 postcodes inside a designated area, about 8.6% of the council. Most of the council is outside it, so the right still applies to the majority of addresses here.
Which wards in Lambeth are covered by licensing?
Selective licensing under Selective Licensing Designation 1 2024 (Phase 1, 4 wards) covers Knight's Hill, Streatham Common and Vale, Streatham Hill East, Streatham St. Leonard's. Selective licensing under Selective Licensing Designation 2 2025 (Phase 2, 19 wards) covers Brixton Acre Lane, Brixton North, Brixton Rush Common, Brixton Windrush, Clapham Common and Abbeville, Clapham East, Clapham Park, Clapham Town, Gipsy Hill, Herne Hill and Loughborough Junction, Kennington, Myatt's Fields, Oval, St Martin's, Stockwell East, Stockwell West and Larkhall, Streatham Hill West and Thornton, Streatham Wells, West Dulwich. A designation can cover only part of a named ward, so check the exact address rather than relying on the ward name alone.
What is the penalty for letting an unlicensed property in Lambeth?
Letting or managing a property that needs a licence without one is a criminal offence under the Housing Act 2004. The council can prosecute or impose a civil penalty, which for conduct on or after 1 May 2026 can be up to £40,000 per offence, raised from £30,000 by the Financial Penalties (Housing Offences and Breach of Banning Orders) Regulations 2026. Tenants or the council can also seek a rent repayment order covering up to two years of rent for conduct from that date, up from one year, under section 103 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Each breach is normally penalised separately. Indicative only, not legal advice.
Do I need planning permission for an HMO in Lambeth?
Where an Article 4 direction applies, yes: it removes the permitted-development right to change a house (use class C3) into a small HMO (use class C4), so that change needs a planning application. An HMO for seven or more residents needs permission anywhere, Article 4 or not. Planning is separate from licensing, and a licence does not give you permission. Where permission was needed and not obtained, councils commonly grant a licence for about twelve months rather than the full term, and generally refuse to extend it if permission is not then granted, which leaves the property unable to be let as an HMO. Practice varies by council, so confirm it with Lambeth.
Can I convert a house into a small HMO in Lambeth without planning permission?
Not inside the Article 4 area. The direction removes the permitted-development right, so a change of use from C3 to C4 needs a planning application. Outside the designated area the right still applies. Check the exact address against the boundary before you commit.
About Lambeth
Lambeth is a local housing authority in London, with a population of about 322,000 and 6,168 live postcodes indexed by LetLens. It is the licensing authority for every private rented property inside its boundary, and the local planning authority that decides whether an Article 4 direction applies.
Nearby councils
Licensing stops at the council boundary, so a street on the other side of it can carry a different scheme and a different fee.