Greenwich Landlord Licence Conditions and Property Inspections

Conditions Attached to Every Licence

A Greenwich property licence is not a simple stamp of approval. It comes with binding conditions, and breaching any single condition is an offence carrying a civil penalty of up to £40,000. The conditions fall into two layers: statutory national conditions that apply to every licensed property in England, and local conditions set by Greenwich council.

Statutory and Licence Conditions

Licensed HMOs must meet national conditions under the Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018 and the requirements attached to their Greenwich licence. Key conditions include:

• Room size limits — bedrooms cannot be let below statutory minimums (6.51 m² for one adult, 10.22 m² for two, 4.64 m² for a child under 10).
• Maximum occupancy — each room and the property overall have specified occupancy limits. These are written on the licence and cannot be exceeded.
• Fire safety — interlinked smoke alarms on every storey, carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with fuel-burning appliances, and kept escape routes.
• Waste management — adequate bins and written waste disposal instructions for tenants.
• Gas and electrical safety — current gas safety certificate (annual) and satisfactory EICR (every 5 years) maintained throughout the licence term, not just at application.

Greenwich-Specific Local Conditions

The council adds conditions reflecting local enforcement priorities:

Child occupancy rules. No bedroom in an HMO may be let to a child under 18 unless a parent or guardian also occupies a bedroom in the same property. Children's bedrooms must have thumb-turn locks, not key locks.

Window safety. First-floor windows and above with sill heights below 1,100 mm from the floor must have safety restrictors limiting the opening gap to 100 mm. The restrictors must have an adult-override mechanism for emergency escape.

Shared kitchen ratios. Kitchen size and equipment must scale with the number of residents. For up to six people, the kitchen needs at least 10.5 m² of floor space with adequate cookers, sinks, worktops and electrical sockets.

Waste management. Licence holders must provide wheelie bins compliant with council refuse collection standards, plus clear written instructions to tenants on waste disposal schedules. Fly-tipping or pest problems traced to the property can trigger enforcement.

Tenancy management. Licence holders must provide references for prospective tenants, deal with anti-social behaviour complaints, and maintain the property in a condition that does not cause nuisance to neighbours.

What Happens During an Inspection

Council officers from the Private Housing & Environmental Health Standards Team conduct inspections under Section 239 of the Housing Act 2004. There are two types:

Routine inspections require 24 hours' written notice to occupiers. The officer arranges a time, attends the property, and checks conditions against the licence. All mandatory HMO properties receive at least one routine inspection during the five-year licence term. Additional HMO and selective licensed properties are inspected on a risk-based sample.

Emergency inspections can be conducted immediately by court warrant where the council suspects a serious hazard (imminent risk to health or safety). These are rare and typically follow a tenant complaint about dangerous conditions.

What Inspectors Check

Inspectors compare the actual property against what was declared in the licence application:

• Room dimensions are measured and compared against the floor plans submitted
• Alarm installations are tested (smoke and CO alarms must be working and interlinked for HMOs)
• Fire escape routes are walked — doors must open, corridors must be clear, fire doors must close and latch
• Gas and electrical certificates are checked for currency
• Kitchen and bathroom amenities are checked against the declared occupancy
• Any structural changes since the application are noted

Discrepancies between declared and actual conditions are logged. Minor issues may result in a request to remedy within a set period. Significant issues — undersized rooms being let, missing alarms, blocked escape routes — can trigger immediate enforcement action, licence variation or revocation.

Staying Compliant Between Inspections

Conditions are not one-off requirements. Gas safety certificates must be renewed annually. EICRs must stay satisfactory. Alarms must stay working. If a tenant removes a battery from a smoke alarm, the licence holder is responsible for replacing it.

Keep a compliance log with certificate renewal dates, alarm test records and any maintenance carried out. When the inspection comes, having the paperwork ready makes the process faster and demonstrates active management.

Our Greenwich landlord licensing guide includes a condition-by-condition compliance log and an inspection preparation checklist so you know exactly what the officer will look for.

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