The Selective Licensing Scheme makes it mandatory to licence a property with the council and meet the required licensing conditions, for any privately rented property to:
- a single-family household, or
- a household occupied by no more than 2 unrelated sharers.
Phase 1 Wards
The first phase of the scheme came into force on Monday 2 September 2024 in the following wards:
- Knights Hill
- Streatham Common and Vale
- Streatham Hill East
- Streatham St. Leonard's
Phase 2 Wards
The second phase of the scheme came into force on Monday 1 September 2025 in the following wards:
- 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
Ward Checker
By inserting the property postcode, the link below can be used to check the ward location of a property.
Phase 1 and 2 will apply to all wards in the London Borough of Lambeth, excluding Vauxhall and Waterloo & South Bank.
All privately rented properties within a selective licensing area must be licensed. Please make an application online as soon as possible to avoid operating an unlicensed property.
Early applications for Phase 2 wards opened on Friday 1 August 2025.
Apply for the Selective Licensing Scheme
The Selective Licensing Scheme will:
- help to identify poorly performing landlords, letting and managing agents
- improve the health and safety of tenants
- help landlords raise their standards
- improve the physical condition of private rented properties
- support good landlords
- help tackle neighbourhood problems.
The scheme will also complement the existing property licensing schemes that are already in place for properties rented as Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO).
For information on the consultation and documentation regarding the selective licensing scheme please visit our privately rented properties consultations page.
If you do not license your property
You are committing a criminal offence if you manage or control a property that should be licensed but is not.
If you do not have a license, you could face the following legal actions:
- Prosecution and unlimited fine: You can be prosecuted and on conviction, a court may impose an unlimited fine.
- A financial penalty: The council can order you to pay up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution.
- A Rent Repayment Order: Your tenants or the council can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to claim back up to 24 months of rent.
- A banning order: You or your managing agent could be banned from letting or managing rental properties.
Impact on evictions
If your property is not licensed, you may not be successful with a Section 8 notice to take possession of your property.
Definition of a single-family household
A single-family household is defined as members of the same family living together. This can include:
- couples married to each other or living together as husband and wife (or in an equivalent relationship in the case of persons of the same sex)
- relatives living together, including parents, grandparents, children (and stepchildren), grandchildren, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces or cousins
- half-relatives (who will be treated as full relatives)
- foster children living with a foster parent or parents
- single persons
Please note: A group on one tenancy agreement does not necessarily mean that it is a single household.
Documents required with your application
To process a selective licence application, the following documents will be requested:
- Land registry title for the freehold and leasehold where applicable – must be dated within 28 days of application
- Gas safety certificate
- Electrical Installation Condition Report – you must conduct remedial works if there are any C1 and C2 deficiencies noted
- Electrical Installation Condition Certificate – this must evidence any C1 and C2 deficiencies noted on your Electrical Installation Condition Report have been remedied
- Energy Performance Certificate (applicable if applying for EPC discount)
- Accreditation Evidence - if you are accredited or where applicable, a member of the recognised schemes listed below at the time of application, and are the proposed licence holder
- Annotated Floor plan
- Current Tenancy/Management agreement(s) – must include the names of all the people residing in the property
The list is not exhaustive, and specific additional documentation might be needed.
The council will request any missing documents not provided with the initial application, but please note that failure to provide us with the missing documents within a reasonable timeframe may result in your application being refused, and no refund will be given for the Part A fee already paid.
Fees
All fees quoted are effective from 1 April 2026.
The fee per licence is £1025.
- Part A (£717.50) for the administration of the application
- Part B (£307.50) for managing and enforcing the licensing scheme
Part B becomes payable when the licence has been approved and prior to the licence being issued and covers the cost of enforcing the scheme.
The part B payment is automatically debited once we have issued your draft licence.
See our refund policy for the Selective Licensing Scheme.
View our other fees and charges on our property standards, enforcement action and costs page.
Discounts
Discounts will be determined on receipt of a full application and all supporting documents and will be applied if you:
Have an EPC rating of C or better
A £50 discount will be applied to the Part B fee for an EPC rating of C or better.
The £50 discount will be applied as a discount once the draft licence has been issued, and before the part B payment is debited.
You must provide evidence that your property has an EPC rating of C or better during the application process or upon request.
Please note that the £50 discount will not be applied at the time of the application.
We support the move to improve energy efficiency across properties in Lambeth, which contributes to our climate change agenda and helps to keep the cost of living down by reducing heating bills.
Are an accredited landlord
If you are accredited under one of the following schemes, you may be entitled to a £75 discount:
- London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS)
- National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA)
- UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA)
The licence holder needs to be accredited at the time of application.
If you are a member of one of the following schemes, you may be entitled to a £75 discount:
- Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA)
- Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
- Safeagent
The licence holder needs to be a member at the time of application.
Should the licence holder believe they have an appropriate membership or accreditation which is not listed, they will have the opportunity to submit a case to be included.
The £75 will be applied as a discount once the draft licence has been issued, and before part B payment is debited.
Are a landlord who has more than one flat in a block
You will be subject to the full Part A and Part B fees for flat 1, and a £100 discount in Part A fees only for all subsequent flats in the same block.
This discount is applicable where multiple properties are:
a. In common ownership and management control.
b. Contiguous with each other in the same block or building
c. All applications made at the same time
Applicants can submit and pay for 8 applications at one time via our application portal using a card.
This discount will be applied as a retrospective refund to any applicable applications once the draft licence has been issued for each of the flats and the part B payment has been debited.
Contact us
If you are a landlord, managing agent or a tenant and wish to enquire whether your property is affected by the additional licensing designation, please contact us by email at PRSLicensing@lambeth.gov.uk or by post at:
PRS Licensing Team
London Borough of Lambeth
PO Box 80771
London
SW2 9QQ