HMO and selective licensing in Lambeth Council

Lambeth runs two local schemes on top of the national mandatory HMO rules. A borough-wide additional HMO licensing scheme has been in force since 9 December 2021: it covers smaller HMOs shared by three or more people who are not all one household, and buildings converted into flats that do not meet the 1991 Building Regulations ("section 257" HMOs). A selective licensing scheme covers ordinary privately rented homes let to a single household or up to two sharers: it started in four wards on 2 September 2024 and was extended to a further 19 wards on 1 September 2025.^[15]

Whatever Lambeth designates locally, a large HMO shared by at least five people from more than one household needs a mandatory licence anywhere in England. The property licensing guide sets out the national tests that sit behind every local scheme.^[23]

Lambeth's selective licensing scheme covers privately rented homes in these 23 wards:^[15]

• Knights Hill
• Streatham Common and Vale
• Streatham Hill East
• Streatham St Leonard's
• Brixton Acre Lane
• Brixton North
• Brixton Rush Common
• Brixton Windrush
• Clapham Common and Abbeville
• Clapham East
• Clapham Park
• Clapham Town
• Gipsy Hill
• Herne Hill and Loughborough Junction
• Kennington
• Myatt's Field
• Oval
• St Martin's
• Stockwell East
• Stockwell West and Larkhall
• Streatham Hill West and Thornton
• Streatham Wells
• West Dulwich

Lambeth publishes an online public register of licensed HMOs, searchable by postcode. A missing entry is a reason to ask the licensing team in writing, not proof of an offence: an application or an exemption may have covered the dates you rented, and the register lists HMO licences rather than every selective-licensed home.^[18]

1. Open the official register. Search the licence register (opens in new tab)^[18]
2. Search the exact address. Save a dated screenshot or download of the result. Councils must keep a register of licences, temporary exemption notices and management orders and make it available for inspection.^[24]
3. Ask about applications and exemptions. A missing entry is a reason to investigate, not proof of an offence, so ask whether a licence, application or exemption covered the dates you rented there.^[27]
4. Report or ask in writing. Contact the HMO team (opens in new tab). Lambeth takes reports through its online "Report a private housing issue" service — choose the private-housing-issue option and give the address.^[21] Ask for a reference number and keep the reply.

Lambeth's HMO standards require adequate fire precautions and means of escape, adequate kitchen and bathroom amenities, enough space without overcrowding, and proper management of the property. The council assesses hazards using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and judges each property on its own merits, so a licence lets a renter separate two questions: whether the home needed one, and whether its condition and shared facilities meet Lambeth's standards.^[20]

• National conditions are the floor. Every licence carries the prescribed conditions on gas, electrics, alarms, tenancy terms and waste, and can last up to five years; the property licensing guide lists them in full.^[25]
• Compare the licence with reality. The register entry or licence may identify the manager, the permitted occupancy and property-specific conditions. Check those details against how the home is actually occupied and managed.
• Keep separate evidence of hazards. A licence does not establish continuing compliance. Report disrepair or an immediate safety risk separately, and keep photographs, messages and certificates.

All three schemes run in Lambeth now, so a licensable HMO anywhere in the borough — or an ordinary private letting in one of the 23 selective wards, from Streatham to Kennington — needs a licence today. Which designation applied, and from when, turns on your address and rental dates, so put that question to the licensing team in writing.^[15][18]

1. Confirm the scheme and dates. Match the address, occupancy and rental period to the designation in force at the time.
2. Ask the council in writing. Contact the HMO team (opens in new tab). Ask Lambeth Council whether an effective application or temporary exemption existed and when it took effect.^[21]
3. Check the legal position. An application, an exemption, a reasonable excuse or the identity of the person legally responsible (the "person managing or controlling" the property) can all affect whether an offence is proved.^[27]
4. Preserve the evidence. Keep the tenancy, rent payments, proof of occupation, dated searches and council correspondence.

For a licensing offence committed on or after the 1 May 2026 rule change, a tenant can ask the First-tier Tribunal for up to two years' rent, and normally has two years from the offence to apply. The tenant must prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt, and the tribunal decides any award from the statutory factors and evidence; recovery is never automatic.^[28] Older offence periods may be governed by earlier limits. Free housing advice is available from Shelter and Citizens Advice, and local law centres can help with tribunal cases.