Do I Need a Property Licence in Hammersmith and Fulham?

You've heard that Hammersmith and Fulham requires property licences, but the council's website spreads the answer across half a dozen pages. Here's the short version: it depends on your street address and how many occupants form separate households.

Step 1: Check the Street

LBHF runs selective licensing on 24 specific roads. If your property is a non-HMO let on one of them — Askew Road, Fulham Road, North End Road, Uxbridge Road, and 20 others — it needs a selective licence, including single-person lets and couples. HMOs use the applicable additional or mandatory HMO scheme. If your property is not on one of those streets and your tenant is a single household, you don't need a licence.

The full street list is in our selective licensing streets guide.

Step 2: Count Occupants and Households

Regardless of which street you're on, the number of occupants and how many separate households they form determines whether HMO licensing applies:

• Three or four people from two or more households sharing facilities → additional HMO licence (borough-wide, £755)
• Five or more people from two or more households sharing facilities → mandatory HMO licence (borough-wide, from £1,656)
• One or two people / single household on a designated street → selective licence (£755)
• One or two people / single household on a non-designated street → no licence needed

A "household" under the Housing Act 2004 means members of the same family. Two friends are two households. A couple is one household. A couple plus one unrelated person is two households.

Step 3: Check Building Type

Purpose-built flats in blocks of three or more self-contained units have a special rule. Even with five occupants, they fall under additional licensing rather than mandatory. And Section 257 converted buildings — conversions that did not comply with the Building Regulations in force at the time (the 1991 Regulations or later regulations) — need an additional HMO licence for the whole building if less than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied.

What If You Get It Wrong?

Applying under the wrong scheme costs you. LBHF rejects the application, keeps the non-refundable Part 1 processing fee (£377.50 for additional/selective, £414 for mandatory), and you have to start a fresh application under the correct scheme.

Operating without any licence at all is worse: civil penalties up to £40,000 for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026 (the previous maximum was £30,000), possible prosecution, and tenants can pursue a rent repayment order for up to 24 months of rent for qualifying offences committed on or after 1 May 2026. The maximum for offences committed before that date is 12 months' rent.

Quick Decision Path

1. Is the property on one of the 24 selective streets? → If yes and it's a single-household let, you need a selective licence
2. Do three or four occupants from two or more households share facilities in the property? → Additional HMO licence
3. Do five or more occupants from two or more households share? → Mandatory HMO licence, except a purpose-built flat in a block of three or more self-contained flats, which falls under additional licensing
4. None of the above? → No licence required

For detailed application steps, documents, and fees, see the Hammersmith and Fulham Landlord Licensing Guide.

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