Do I Need a Property Licence in Wandsworth?

Start with Two Questions

Whether your Wandsworth rental property needs a licence comes down to two things: who lives there and where it is.

The who determines whether the property is an HMO. The where determines whether selective licensing applies. Together they tell you exactly which scheme — if any — covers the property.

Step 1: Count Occupants and Households

A "household" under the Housing Act 2004 means a family unit: spouses, civil partners, cohabiting couples, parents, children, siblings, step-relatives. Unrelated individuals count as separate households, regardless of the tenancy structure. Three friends on a joint tenancy form three households.

If the property is an HMO, it needs the relevant HMO licence regardless of which ward it sits in. You don't need to check the ward map unless the occupancy falls below the HMO threshold.

Step 2: Check the Ward (for Non-HMO Properties)

If the property is let to a single person, a couple, a family, or two unrelated sharers — and it's not an HMO — it only needs a licence if it's in one of seven designated wards:

Designation 1 (since 1 July 2025): Furzedown, South Balham, Tooting Bec, Tooting Broadway

Designation 2 (since 1 April 2026): East Putney, West Putney, Northcote

Outside these seven wards, a non-HMO property needs no licence at all.

The critical step is confirming the ward. Postal addresses are unreliable — a property you'd call "Putney" might be in the West Putney ward (licensed) or Thamesfield (not licensed). Wandsworth Council's online property licence check tool uses the UPRN to confirm the exact ward. Use that, not the postcode.

Exemptions

Certain properties are exempt from all three schemes:

• Social housing managed by a local authority or registered housing association
• Student accommodation managed by a university with an approved code of practice
• Family lettings where the property is let to close family members at below-market rent for maintenance only
• Temporary accommodation provided under statutory homelessness duties
• Business tenancies and holiday lets specified under the Selective Licensing exemption order
• Owner-occupiers with up to two lodgers — if you live in the property and let rooms to one or two people, no licence is needed. A third lodger (creating a three-person, multi-household property) triggers additional HMO licensing

The Quick Decision Flow

1. Is the property privately rented? If no → no licence needed
2. Is it occupied by 5+ people from 2+ households sharing amenities? If yes → mandatory HMO licence
3. Is it occupied by 3–4 people from 2+ households sharing amenities? If yes → additional HMO licence
4. Is it in Furzedown, South Balham, Tooting Bec, Tooting Broadway, East Putney, West Putney, or Northcote? If yes → selective licence
5. None of the above? → no licence required under current designations

What About Online Licence Checkers?

Tools like Licence Checker England and RenterCheck offer postcode-level lookups to confirm whether an address falls in a selective licensing area. They're useful for a quick initial check, but they only confirm the geographic designation — they don't evaluate your occupancy or household structure. You still need to work through the headcount and household test yourself.

For the full decision framework — including Section 257 converted block edge cases, planning permission triggers, and worked examples — see our Wandsworth Landlord Licensing guide.

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