How to Apply for a Greenwich Selective Licence Without a Letting Agent

If your property is in one of Greenwich's five selective licensing wards and you want to apply for the licence yourself rather than paying a letting agent £600–£900, you can. The application is administrative — an online form, a set of documents, a two-stage fee and a fit-and-proper person declaration. No solicitor, no surveyor and no agent is required. What you do need is every document ready and every disclosure prepared before you open the council portal, because the Stage 1 fee of £452.88 is due at submission; council officers check completeness afterward, and the fee is not refunded if the application is refused or withdrawn.

Step 1: Confirm Your Property Needs a Selective Licence

Greenwich's selective licensing scheme covers privately rented properties in five designated wards: Woolwich Riverside, Woolwich Common, Shooters Hill, Plumstead Common and Plumstead Glyndon. The scheme has been active since 1 October 2022.

Before applying, check two things:

1. Ward: use the council's address search tool to confirm your property falls within one of the five wards. Electoral ward boundaries shifted in 2022, so a postcode that previously sat outside a designated area may now be inside one.
2. Occupancy: selective licensing covers single-household lets and properties with two unrelated sharers. If your property has three or more occupants from two or more households, it falls under the separate additional HMO licensing scheme instead — the fee structure, conditions and application form are different.

A property that needs an HMO licence does not also need a selective licence. The schemes are mutually exclusive based on occupancy.

Step 2: Assemble Your Documents

The council requires these documents at submission. Gather every one before you start the application — missing a single item risks rejection and loss of the Stage 1 fee.

Mandatory for all selective licence applications:

• Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) — must be current (issued within 12 months)
• Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) — must be satisfactory and less than five years old
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) — valid and minimum E rating
• Proof of ownership or management authority
• Proof of identity for the proposed licence holder
• A completed fit-and-proper person self-declaration

Additional items the portal may request:

• Floor plans with room dimensions (not always required for selective but increasingly requested)
• Fire Risk Assessment (required for HMOs; some selective applications are flagged for one if the property's layout suggests shared areas)
• Tenancy agreement

Scan every document as a clear, legible PDF. The portal has upload size limits — check each file opens correctly before the session.

Step 3: Prepare the Fit-and-Proper Person Disclosure

The council assesses whether the proposed licence holder is a fit and proper person to hold a licence. The declaration asks about:

• Unspent criminal convictions (the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 exemption for housing licensing means some spent convictions must still be declared — check the specific wording on the form)
• Any previous refusal or revocation of a property licence
• Any civil penalty, prosecution or enforcement action under housing legislation
• Involvement as a director or officer of a company that has been subject to such action
• Management arrangements — whether you use a managing agent and their details

Write your answers in advance. The portal gives you text boxes, not unlimited time, and a disclosure that is vague or incomplete can delay the application.

Step 4: Understand the Two-Stage Fee

Greenwich charges the selective licensing fee in two stages:

• Stage 1 (£452.88): paid at the point of submission. This is the application processing fee. It is non-refundable if the application is refused or withdrawn; if initial verification finds that no licence is required, the council refunds it.
• Stage 2 (£452.87): paid after the council has reviewed the application and before the licence is issued.

The total for a standard selective licence is £905.75. Landlords accredited through the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS) receive a discount — typically 10–15% — on both stages. If you hold LLAS accreditation, have your certificate number ready.

The critical point: the Stage 1 fee is charged when you click submit, not when the council approves your application. If you submit with a missing document or an error in the fit-and-proper disclosure, the application may be refused and the fee is gone. This is the single biggest financial risk in the DIY process, and it is entirely preventable with preparation.

Step 5: Submit Through the Portal

With documents assembled, disclosure written and fee understood:

1. Log in to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's online licensing portal
2. Select the correct scheme — selective licensing, not additional HMO or mandatory HMO
3. Enter property details and occupancy information
4. Upload every document in the required format
5. Complete the fit-and-proper person declaration
6. Review every field before submitting
7. Pay the Stage 1 fee

After submission, the council reviews the application. Its processing target for a fully completed application is 12 weeks, though actual timing may vary. You will receive a draft licence with proposed conditions before the Stage 2 fee is requested.

Common Mistakes That Cost Money

• Applying under the wrong scheme: a property with three unrelated sharers in a selective ward needs an additional HMO licence, not a selective licence. The fee and conditions differ; if the application is refused or withdrawn, the Stage 1 fee is not refunded.
• Expired safety certificates: an EICR older than five years or a gas certificate older than 12 months means the application is incomplete. Check expiry dates before you start.
• Forgetting the Article 4 Direction: if your property is a small HMO (three to six occupants), Greenwich's Article 4 Direction means you need planning permission for the C4 use class as well as the licence. A valid licence does not override a missing planning consent.
• Incomplete fit-and-proper disclosure: leaving a field blank or writing "N/A" when a specific answer is expected. The council follows up, which delays the application and may require additional fees.

Who This Is For

• Self-managing landlords with a property in Woolwich Riverside, Woolwich Common, Shooters Hill, Plumstead Common or Plumstead Glyndon who want to handle the selective licence application themselves
• Landlords who already hold valid safety certificates and simply need to know the portal process and fee structure
• Anyone who wants to save the £600–£900 an agent charges for a single selective licence application

Who This Is NOT For

• Landlords whose property has three or more occupants from two or more households — that is an HMO, and the application is different
• Landlords who need safety certificates arranged, remediation work done and the application submitted as a package — a compliance consultancy handles the whole chain
• Properties outside the five designated wards (unless the proposed 18-ward expansion has been approved and your ward is now covered)

A Preparation Guide Saves the Stage 1 Fee

The Greenwich Landlord Licensing Guide is built around exactly this workflow. It covers all three licensing schemes — selective, additional HMO and mandatory HMO — with a property classification decision tree, a pre-submission document checklist, a two-stage fee calculator and a fit-and-proper disclosure worksheet. The entire point is to make the portal session a data-entry exercise rather than a research project with a non-refundable fee on the line.

For a selective licence application, the guide walks through ward confirmation, occupancy classification, every required document, the exact fee amounts with accreditation discounts, and the fit-and-proper questions — so you submit once, complete, and do not lose the £452.88 Stage 1 fee to a preventable error.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to get a selective licence in Greenwich?

The council's processing target for a fully completed application is 12 weeks, though actual timing may vary. It issues a draft licence with proposed conditions before the Stage 2 fee is due. Once the representation period has passed and you pay the Stage 2 fee, the council issues the final licence.

What happens if I let the property while the application is pending?

A duly made application that remains effective can provide a defence to an offence of operating without a licence while the council decides it. This is not a licence or final approval, and it does not protect an invalid or withdrawn application.

Can I get the Stage 1 fee refunded if I withdraw the application?

No, if you withdraw or the council refuses the application, the Stage 1 fee is not refunded. The council refunds the fee if initial verification finds that no licence is required. This is why preparing every document and disclosure offline before submitting is the most important step in the process.

Does the selective licence cover the whole property or each tenancy?

A selective licence covers the property, not the tenancy. One licence per property, regardless of whether you have a single tenant or two unrelated sharers (the occupancy limit for selective licensing). If occupancy changes and the property becomes an HMO, you need to apply for the appropriate HMO licence instead.

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