Additional HMO licensing in Southwark

Common questions

What the designation says

Southwark operates an additional licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation, declared on 28 October 2021. It extends licensing to shared properties that fall outside the national mandatory regime, typically those let to three or four people forming two or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet, and it covers section 257 HMOs, which are converted blocks of flats where the conversion did not meet the Building Regulations in force at the time. There is no charge for a section 257 HMO licence. Mandatory HMO licensing continues to apply separately wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households. Because Southwark also runs selective licensing across a number of wards, a landlord should establish which of the three schemes catches a given property before applying. Letting a licensable HMO without a licence carries a civil penalty of up to £40,000 or prosecution, and exposes the landlord to a rent repayment order. The £40,000 ceiling applies to offences committed on or after 1 May 2026; the £30,000 ceiling still applies to offences committed before that date.

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 £40,000 per offence and a rent repayment order of up to two years' rent. Both maxima apply to conduct on or after 1 May 2026; before that date they were £30,000 and twelve months. Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026 and possession now runs through the amended section 8 grounds. Mandatory HMO licensing applies separately and everywhere, wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households.

Southwark's own licensing page →