Selective licensing in Bexley

What the designation says

Bexley operates a selective licensing scheme covering Belvedere ward. It became operative on 13 January 2025 and expires on 12 January 2030, and the council began accepting applications on 5 November 2024. Within the designated ward every privately rented home needs a licence regardless of how many people occupy it, so an ordinary self-contained flat or a single-family house is caught as well as shared housing. A property that is an HMO let to fewer than five people is covered by this scheme rather than the mandatory regime where it sits inside the ward, and the council publishes a lookup tool so a landlord can check a specific address. The published fee is £350 plus £480, with a £50 reduction for landlords and agents who are accredited at the time of applying. Letting an unlicensed property in the designated area is a criminal offence: the council may prosecute or impose a civil penalty of up to £30,000, and on conviction the court may impose an unlimited fine. The rest of the borough is outside the designation and needs no selective licence.

What this means for a landlord

A licence must be in place before the property is let, not applied for afterwards. Operating unlicensed in a designated area is a criminal offence: a civil penalty of up to £30,000 per offence, a rent repayment order of up to twelve months' rent, and a section 21 notice that cannot be served while the property is unlicensed. Mandatory HMO licensing applies separately and everywhere, wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households.

Bexley's own licensing page →