Merton is a part borough. Unlike Wandsworth next door, licensing here does not apply everywhere. Whether you need a licence, and which one, comes down to which of seven wards your property sits in.
That makes Merton the borough where landlords most often get it wrong in both directions. Some assume they are covered when they are not. More expensively, some assume they are outside it when they are not.
Planning is now the opposite. Since 24 March 2026 you need planning permission to create a small HMO anywhere in Merton, with no exceptions by area. That is new, and a lot of people have not caught up with it.
Licensing is different in each borough. See our guides to Wandsworth, Lambeth, Croydon, Kingston, Sutton and Southwark in South London, and Brent and Hillingdon in West London.
Which licence your Merton property needs
Mandatory HMO licence
Applies borough wide, as everywhere. Required where five or more people from two or more households share facilities.
Additional HMO licence
Applies only in seven wards: Colliers Wood, Cricket Green, Figge’s Marsh, Graveney, Lavender Fields, Longthornton and Pollards Hill.
Merton has drawn this narrowly. It catches HMOs occupied by three or four people forming more than one household. Five or more is mandatory licensing instead, so the additional scheme sits underneath it rather than alongside it.
Selective licence
Applies only in four wards: Figge’s Marsh, Graveney, Longthornton and Pollards Hill. These four are a subset of the seven, so in those wards both schemes operate and which one applies depends on how the property is let.
Both designations came into force on 24 September 2023 and run for five years.
Merton publishes a ward lookup and it is worth using rather than guessing. Ward names here do not map onto how people describe the area, and Colliers Wood, Cricket Green and Lavender Fields are additional licensing only, with no selective scheme.
Merton charges the fee the other way round
This is the thing worth knowing about Merton, and almost nobody flags it.
Licence fees everywhere are split into Part A, payable when you apply and not refunded if the application fails, and Part B, payable only if the council decides to grant. In most boroughs the bulk of the money sits in Part A, so a failed application is expensive.
Merton has done the opposite for its discretionary schemes.
Additional HMO licence: Part A £267. Part B between £1,299 and £1,407 depending on bedroom count. Total between £1,566 and £1,674.
Selective licence: Part A £267. Part B £480.60. Total £747.60.
Mandatory HMO licence: structured conventionally, with Part A rising by unit count from £1,097.42 for two units to £1,612.06 for ten, plus a flat Part B of £852.37.
Correct as at 10 August 2026, per Merton’s stated update of 1 April 2026. Check the current figures on Merton Council’s fees page before you budget.
So on a Merton additional or selective application your money is only genuinely at risk at £267, and the large payment only falls due once the council has decided to grant. On a Wandsworth additional application you commit £903 up front and lose it if the application is refused, rejected or withdrawn.
Two consequences follow. If you are unsure whether the property qualifies, Merton is a cheaper borough to find out in. But once you are granted, Part B must be paid within seven days, so the bulk of the cost arrives at short notice. Landlords who have budgeted for the application fee and forgotten the grant fee get caught here.
A £50 discount is available on additional and selective licences for accredited landlords and members of recognised schemes. It does not apply to mandatory licences. It is lost entirely if the council has had to chase you twice for documents or has served a warning letter.
The Merton licence conditions are unusually specific
Most councils attach broad conditions. Merton publishes its additional licence conditions in detail, and several of them impose named deadlines on the licence holder rather than general duties.
The anti-social behaviour condition is the clearest example. If a complaint is received or behaviour is discovered, the licence holder must contact the occupiers in writing within 14 days setting out the allegation and the consequences of continuing. If it is still going on 28 days after the complaint, the licence holder must visit within 7 days and issue a warning letter referring to possible eviction. If nothing has changed 14 days after that, formal steps under the tenancy must follow, including legal proceedings where appropriate. All the correspondence has to be produced to the council within 28 days on demand.
There are similar named timescales elsewhere in the conditions. Gas safety certificates within 7 days on demand. Electrical installation declarations within 7 days. Tenancy agreements and references within 14 days. Fire detection test reports within 7 days.
None of this is difficult. It is just a running obligation with clocks attached, and it is what an HMO manager is for. Breaching a licence condition is separate from failing to licence, and it can be enforced separately.
You now need planning permission for any new HMO in Merton
Licensing tells you whether an existing HMO is lawful to operate. Planning tells you whether you are allowed to create one in the first place. In Merton the planning answer has just changed, and unlike licensing it is not ward dependent any more.
Merton has removed permitted development rights for converting a home in use class C3 into a small HMO in use class C4 across the whole borough. Converting a family home into an HMO of any size anywhere in Merton now requires planning permission.
The council did this in two steps, both by immediate Article 4 direction.
Seven wards from 17 November 2022. Colliers Wood, Cricket Green, Figge’s Marsh, Graveney, Lavender Fields, Longthornton and Pollards Hill. The council resolved to confirm this direction on 19 April 2023, making it permanent in those seven wards.
The remaining thirteen wards from 24 March 2026. Abbey, Cannon Hill, Hillside, Lower Morden, Merton Park, Ravensbury, Raynes Park, St Helier, Wandle, West Barnes, Wimbledon Park, Wimbledon Town and Dundonald, and Village.
Two points follow from that split, and they are the ones that cost money.
If you converted a property in one of the thirteen newer wards before 24 March 2026, you did it under permitted development and the direction does not undo it. If you are looking at doing it now, in Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Morden or anywhere else in the borough, you need permission first.
And a licence is not permission. Merton says so on its own site: HMO licensing is separate from planning. You can hold a valid HMO licence for a property that has no planning consent for the use, and the council can still act on the planning side. Merton also states that it will not refund licence fees where planning permission is refused for works required to the property after the licence has been granted.
Some property types are not HMOs for the purposes of the Housing Act 2004 and are outside the direction. Merton publishes an exemption list.
Two other things to watch in Merton
Merton’s section 257 exemption is narrower than it looks.
Converted blocks are only outside the additional scheme where the building is under three storeys and converted into two self-contained flats, or where the building and the flats within it are in different ownership or effectively under different control. That is a much tighter carve out than a general exemption for converted blocks, and larger conversions will usually be inside the scheme.
Refused planning permission does not get your fee back.
Merton states plainly that fees are not refunded where planning permission is refused for works required to the property after the licence has been granted. Licensing and planning are separate processes here, and the licensing money is spent regardless.
A licence normally lasts five years, though the council can grant a shorter term.
If the property is about to stop being licensable
You can apply for a temporary exemption if the property will stop being licensable within three months, as an alternative to applying for a licence. Merton makes no charge for a temporary exemption notice, though an application received after one expires is charged as a new application.
How we work in Merton
We manage HMOs across Merton, including Wimbledon, Colliers Wood, Mitcham and Morden, and in the neighbouring parts of Wandsworth.
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.
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. If the note says you do not need us, you keep the note.
Full detail on how our management works · Book a free compliance audit
Merton HMO questions
Do I need an HMO licence in Merton?
It depends where the property is. Mandatory licensing applies borough wide for five or more sharers. Additional licensing for three or four sharers applies only in Colliers Wood, Cricket Green, Figge’s Marsh, Graveney, Lavender Fields, Longthornton and Pollards Hill.
Which Merton wards need a selective licence?
Figge’s Marsh, Graveney, Longthornton and Pollards Hill, since 24 September 2023.
How much is an HMO licence in Merton?
An additional HMO licence is £1,566 to £1,674 depending on bedrooms, and a selective licence is £747.60. Mandatory fees run from £1,949.79 for two units to £2,464.43 for ten. Correct as at 10 August 2026.
When do I have to pay?
Part A on application, at £267 for additional and selective licences. Part B is due within seven days of the council deciding to grant, and that is where most of the cost sits.
How long do the Merton schemes run?
Both the additional and selective designations came into force on 24 September 2023 and run for five years.
Do I need planning permission to create an HMO in Merton?
Yes, anywhere in the borough. Merton has removed permitted development rights for converting a home into a small HMO, in seven wards from 17 November 2022 and in the remaining thirteen from 24 March 2026. Conversions completed under permitted development before those dates are not affected.
Is a licence the same as planning permission?
No. They are separate processes and holding one says nothing about the other. Merton also does not refund licence fees if planning permission is later refused.
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 Merton 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.