Penalties for Unlicensed Letting in Greenwich: Fines, Civil Penalties and RROs

The Cost of Getting Caught

Letting a property in Greenwich without the required licence is a criminal offence under Parts 2 and 3 of the Housing Act 2004. The council's enforcement policy gives it multiple routes to penalise non-compliance, and tenants have their own claims available. The financial exposure is real.

Civil Penalty Notices

Greenwich can issue civil penalty notices of up to £40,000 per offence as an alternative to criminal prosecution. The penalty is calculated based on breach severity, the landlord's track record and portfolio size, and any aggravating or mitigating factors.

Each unlicensed property is a separate offence. A landlord with three unlicensed HMOs faces up to £120,000 in combined penalties. Breaching licence conditions — not just operating without a licence — also attracts penalties of up to £40,000 per breach.

The penalty matrix in the council's Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy 2026–2029 weights deliberate non-compliance and repeat offending at the top of the scale. A first-time accidental landlord who applies promptly after being contacted is likely to receive a lower penalty than a portfolio landlord who ignored multiple warnings.

Criminal Prosecution

Instead of a civil penalty, the council can prosecute through the magistrates' court. Conviction carries an unlimited fine. The council cannot pursue both a civil penalty and prosecution for the same offence — it must choose one or the other.

In practice, Greenwich favours civil penalties for most licensing offences because they are faster to process and do not require the criminal standard of proof. Prosecution is reserved for the most serious cases, particularly where the landlord has a history of enforcement action.

Rent Repayment Orders

Tenants can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order (RRO) against a landlord who has operated an unlicensed property. The local authority can also apply on behalf of housing benefit recipients.

Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 amendments (effective 1 May 2026), the maximum recoverable period was extended from 12 months to 24 months of rent for offences committed after that date. For a tenant paying £1,500 per month, that is up to £36,000.

An RRO is separate from — and additional to — any civil penalty the council imposes. A landlord can face a £40,000 penalty from the council and a tenant's RRO claim simultaneously.

Forum posts on r/HousingUK show that tenants in Greenwich already check the public licensing register to see whether their property has a valid licence, and some actively research RRO claims when it does not.

Section 21 and Licensing

The Housing Act 2004 previously barred a landlord from serving a valid Section 21 notice while a property required a licence but did not have one. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished Section 21 for private assured tenancies from 1 May 2026; landlords now rely on the statutory grounds for possession.

Late Application Surcharge

Applying after being caught adds a financial sting on top of any penalty. Greenwich imposes a 30% surcharge on the standard licence fee for late applications filed after a formal warning or after being found operating without a licence. For a selective licence, that adds roughly £272 to the £905.75 fee. For a five-unit HMO, the surcharge is approximately £792.

How the Council Finds Unlicensed Properties

Greenwich uses several methods to identify properties operating without a licence:

• Cross-referencing council tax records with the licensing register to spot properties flagged as rented but absent from the register.
• Tenant complaints — noise, disrepair and overcrowding reports trigger licence checks.
• Public register lookups — anyone can search the register by address, and tenants do.
• PRS Database cross-matching — under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, local authorities will cross-reference Metastreet records with the national PRS Database.

The enforcement team also conducts proactive area sweeps in the five selective licensing wards.

What to Do If You Realise You Are Unlicensed

Apply immediately. The council's enforcement policy considers voluntary compliance as a mitigating factor. A landlord who self-identifies and submits a complete application before receiving formal contact is in a far stronger position than one who waits for a penalty notice.

Our Greenwich landlord licensing guide covers the application process for every scheme, with a pre-submission checklist so you can get the documents right on the first attempt and avoid the non-refundable Stage 1 fee being wasted.

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