London · Council licensing
Landlord licensing in Wandsworth
✓ Hand-verified 25 Aug 2026Wandsworth operates discretionary property licensing. Letting an unlicensed property where a scheme applies risks a civil penalty of up to £30,000 and a rent repayment order — check whether your property is covered below.
Required for any HMO let to 5 or more people forming 2+ households who share facilities.
The band is set by the number of bedrooms.
| 3 bedrooms | £1,711 |
| 10 or more | £2,117 |
| Each bedroom | £58 |
Wandsworth — wandsworth.gov.uk, read 19 Aug 2026
Wandsworth operates selective licensing in two phases. The first designation covers all privately rented homes in Furzedown, South Balham, Tooting Bec and Tooting Broadway. A second designation extends the scheme to further wards from April 2026. Selective licensing applies to homes occupied by a single family household or by two sharers, so an ordinary flat or house let to one family is caught; shared houses of three or more households fall under the separate additional HMO scheme instead. The fee is £850 per property and a licence normally runs for five years. The council ran an early-bird discount for the first designation and for additional licensing which closed on 31 December 2025, and a further early-bird discount for the second selective designation runs from 1 April 2026 to 1 October 2026. Because the two designations start at different times, a landlord should check their specific address against the council's property licence checker rather than assume a borough-wide position. Letting without a required licence is a criminal offence carrying a civil penalty of up to £30,000 or prosecution, and exposes the landlord to a rent repayment order.
Areas: Two designations. Designation 1, approved by Cabinet 3 February 2025, in force 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2030: Furzedown, South Balham, Tooting Bec, Tooting Broadway. Designation 2, made 1 December 2025 under the 23 December 2024 General Approval, in force 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2031: East Putney, Northcote, West Putney
Paid in two parts — one on application, the balance before the licence is issued.
| Part A | £529 |
| Part B | £356 |
| Total | £885 |
- Discounts as additional
Wandsworth, read 25 August 2026
Scheme runs until: 30 June 2030
Wandsworth operates a borough-wide additional HMO licensing scheme. It applies to small shared houses occupied by residents from three or more households who share a kitchen or a bathroom and which are not already covered by the national mandatory HMO scheme, so it brings smaller house shares into licensing below the five-occupant mandatory threshold. The fee is £1,450 per property and a licence normally runs for five years. The early-bird discount for this scheme closed on 31 December 2025. Mandatory HMO licensing continues to apply separately wherever a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households. Because Wandsworth also runs selective licensing in parts of the borough, a landlord should establish which of the three schemes catches a given property before applying: a single family or two sharers falls under selective, three or more households under additional or mandatory.
Areas: Borough-wide, all wards. Section 257 HMOs excluded. Made 22 July 2024
Paid in two parts — one on application, the balance before the licence is issued.
| Part A | £903 |
| Part B | £604 |
| Total | £1,507 |
- Discounts mostly off Part B: EPC B+ £104 or EPC C £52; accredited £104; social-rented-sector provision £104; Gold Standard 40 per cent off Part B; multi-dwelling £104 off Part A
- Discounts, research live-read 24 Aug 2026
Wandsworth, read 25 August 2026
Scheme runs until: 30 June 2030
Common questions
Does Wandsworth have a selective licensing scheme?
Yes. Wandsworth operates a selective licensing scheme. Letting a property covered by it without a licence risks a civil penalty of up to £30,000, a rent repayment order of up to twelve months' rent, and the loss of the right to serve a section 21 notice.
Does Wandsworth have an additional HMO licensing scheme?
Yes. Wandsworth operates an additional HMO licensing scheme. Letting a property covered by it without a licence risks a civil penalty of up to £30,000, a rent repayment order of up to twelve months' rent, and the loss of the right to serve a section 21 notice.
Do I need an HMO licence in Wandsworth?
A mandatory HMO licence is required anywhere in England and Wales, including Wandsworth, where a property is let to five or more people forming two or more households who share basic amenities. Smaller shared houses may also need a licence where an additional licensing scheme applies.
- Free landlord compliance check — five questions, no account
- Tenancy agreement checker — findings cited to the Act and section
Selective licensing in Wandsworth: areas, dates and fees →
Additional HMO licensing in Wandsworth: areas, dates and fees →
All property licensing in London →
Source: Wandsworth licensing page →
Every landlord in Wandsworth also needs
A valid Gas Safety certificate (annual), an EICR (every 5 years), a valid EPC, a protected deposit, smoke & CO alarms, the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet, and a current How to Rent guide — plus the new Section 8 possession rules since Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026.
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