Lambeth is the most heavily licensed borough we work in. Four schemes run at once, and only two of its wards, Waterloo and South Bank and Vauxhall, sit outside selective licensing altogether.
It is also the borough with the most movement in it. The additional licensing designation that has covered every small HMO in Lambeth since December 2021 is due to cease to have effect on 8 December 2026.
Licensing is different in each borough. See our guides to Wandsworth, Merton, Croydon, Kingston, Sutton and Southwark in South London, and Brent and Hillingdon in West London.
Which licence your Lambeth property needs
Mandatory HMO licence
Applies borough wide. Five or more occupants from two or more households sharing facilities.
Additional HMO licence
Applies borough wide, in force since 9 December 2021. It covers any property occupied by three or more individuals that mandatory licensing does not catch.
Lambeth has drawn this widely. It expressly includes multiple occupied flats in purpose built blocks of more than two flats where the flat has three or more occupants. It also includes buildings converted entirely into self contained flats where the conversion did not meet the 1991 Building Regulations and still does not, and fewer than two thirds of the flats are owner occupied. In that situation the freeholder is responsible for licensing the common parts, and in some cases the flats.
This is broader than most neighbouring boroughs and it catches freeholders who do not think of themselves as HMO landlords at all.
Selective licence, first designation
In force since 2 September 2024 for five years, covering Knights Hill, Streatham Common and Vale, Streatham Hill East and Streatham St Leonards.
Selective licence, second designation
In force since 1 September 2025 for five years, covering most of the rest of the borough.
Between the two designations, the only Lambeth wards outside selective licensing are Waterloo and South Bank, and Vauxhall. If your property is privately rented and let to a single household or two unrelated sharers anywhere else in Lambeth, assume you need a selective licence until you have checked otherwise.
What a Lambeth licence costs
Lambeth charges HMO licences per letting, meaning per habitable room used for sleeping. Living and dining rooms do not count.
£550 per letting. So £2,750 for a five bedroom shared house, £3,300 for six, £1,650 for three.
The fee splits roughly two thirds Part A on application, one third Part B on grant. Part A is non refundable.
Charges effective from 1 April 2026 per Lambeth’s published table. Correct as at 10 August 2026. Check the current figures on Lambeth Council’s fee page before you budget.
Two things have got worse here recently. Lambeth has removed the renewal discount entirely, so the fee per habitable room is now the same £550 whether you are applying for the first time or renewing an existing licence. And the accreditation discount, which was previously proportionate, is now a flat £75 off Part B regardless of the size of the property. On a six bedroom HMO that is a little over two per cent.
The £75 is lost completely if the council has had to ask you twice for supporting documents or has served a warning letter for failing to licence. On a £3,300 application, getting it right first time is worth more than the discount itself.
Lambeth has a backlog and a hard payment deadline
Lambeth states on its own website that the volume of applications following the additional licensing scheme has created a notable backlog affecting processing times. It aims to determine a complete application in 12 weeks, and asks you not to chase before then.
Two deadlines sit inside that process and both bite.
If you fail to pay the Part B fee within 10 days of the council asking, the decision to grant is reviewed and the licence may be refused instead. Part A is not refunded if that happens.
Separately, if you let a licence expire before reapplying, Lambeth says you forfeit the right to relicense at the renewal rate and the council will consider formal action, which may include prosecution, a rent repayment order or a civil penalty. The council sends a reminder around three months before expiry, but says plainly that it is not obliged to and that not receiving one is not an excuse.
Twelve weeks of processing against a three month reminder leaves no margin. In practice a Lambeth renewal needs to be started well before the reminder arrives.
Planning permission in Streatham is not what it was
On 24 July 2025 Lambeth confirmed an Article 4 direction covering Streatham Common and Vale and Streatham St Leonards, which came into force on 11 August 2025.
From that date, converting a property in either of those two wards from a single family home to a small HMO of up to six occupants needs planning permission. Everywhere else in Lambeth that change is still permitted development.
The direction is not retrospective. Properties converted under permitted development before 11 August 2025 are not affected.
Both of those wards are also inside selective licensing designation one, so a Streatham property can now sit inside a selective designation, an additional designation and an Article 4 direction at the same time. They are three separate regimes and complying with one says nothing about the other two.
What happens if you do not licence
Lambeth states that operating an HMO that requires a licence without one is an offence carrying an unlimited fine on conviction, or a financial penalty of up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution. A rent repayment order may follow, an eviction notice served while unlicensed may be invalid, and the council may take over management of the property under an interim management order.
How we work in Lambeth
We manage HMOs in Lambeth, including Streatham, Clapham, Brixton and Herne Hill.
Full management is 15% of gross collected rent, and 13% where you have three or more properties with us. We are not currently VAT registered, so there is no VAT to add. Contractor invoices are passed through at cost.
We also handle licence applications on their own, without management, if that is all you need. Given the document list Lambeth works from and the backlog, this is a borough where getting the application complete first time is worth real money.
Every engagement starts with a free compliance audit. We visit, spend an hour going through the property, and send you a written note of what we find. No charge and no obligation.
Full detail on how our management works · Book a free compliance audit
Lambeth HMO questions
Do I need an HMO licence in Lambeth?
Almost certainly. Mandatory licensing applies borough wide for five or more sharers, and additional licensing has applied borough wide since December 2021 to any property with three or more occupants that mandatory licensing does not catch.
Which Lambeth wards need a selective licence?
Almost all of them. Only Waterloo and South Bank, and Vauxhall, sit outside the two selective designations.
How much is an HMO licence in Lambeth?
£550 per letting, meaning per bedroom used for sleeping. A five bedroom HMO is £2,750. Correct as at 10 August 2026.
Is there still a renewal discount?
No. Lambeth has removed it, so renewals are charged at the same rate as new applications.
Do I need planning permission to create an HMO in Lambeth?
In Streatham Common and Vale and Streatham St Leonards, yes, for any HMO of up to six occupants, since 11 August 2025. Elsewhere in Lambeth, small HMO conversion remains permitted development, though HMOs for more than six people need permission anywhere.
How long does an application take?
Lambeth aims for 12 weeks from a complete application and has said it is working through a backlog.
Talk to us
No obligation, and we will tell you honestly if you do not need us.
Telephone: 020 3026 7320
Email: info@reaysmithproperty.co.uk
Licensing information on this page reflects Lambeth Council’s published guidance as at 10 August 2026 and is general information, not advice on your specific property. Check the council’s own pages for the current position.