Lambeth Property Licensing Fees 2026: Selective, Additional and Mandatory HMO Costs

Lambeth's licensing fees went up on 1 April 2026, pushing a selective licence to £1,025 — an 11% increase on the previous £923. HMO licences, charged per habitable room, can run into thousands for larger properties. Here is exactly what each scheme costs, how the two-part fee works, and where the discounts apply.

Selective Licence: £1,025 Per Property

Every selective licence in Lambeth is a flat fee per property, regardless of the number of bedrooms or occupants. The total breaks down into two parts:

• Part A (application processing): £717.50 — paid when you submit the application. Non-refundable once processing starts, even if the application is later withdrawn or refused.
• Part B (enforcement): £307.50 — invoiced after the council approves the draft licence and issues the notice of intent. Part B is collected through the portal before the final licence is granted.

This two-part model follows the legal principle from Hemming v Westminster City Council. The council cannot charge a single upfront fee that includes enforcement costs before deciding whether to grant the licence.

HMO Licence: £550 Per Habitable Room

Both additional and mandatory HMO licences use the same per-room pricing. Habitable rooms include bedrooms and living rooms available to tenants — kitchens and bathrooms are excluded.

Some worked examples:

Like the selective licence, HMO fees are split roughly two-thirds Part A and one-third Part B.

Available Discounts

Three discounts can reduce the total:

Accreditation discount — £75 off Part B. Applies if the proposed licence holder holds active accreditation with the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS), National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), UKALA, ARLA/Propertymark, RICS, or Safeagent. The accreditation must be valid at the time of application.

EPC discount — £50 off Part B (selective only). Available when the property has a valid Energy Performance Certificate rated C or higher. You need to upload the EPC showing the C+ rating as part of the application.

Multi-unit block discount — £100 off Part A (selective only). If the same legal entity owns and manages multiple self-contained flats in the same contiguous building block, the first flat pays full price and each subsequent flat gets £100 off Part A (reducing it to £617.50). Applications for up to eight flats can be submitted together, and the discount is processed as a retrospective refund after Part B is collected.

A landlord with NRLA accreditation and an EPC rated C applying for a selective licence would pay £717.50 (Part A) plus £182.50 (Part B minus both discounts) — £900 total instead of £1,025.

What Happens to Part A If the Application Fails

Part A is non-refundable in almost every scenario. It is not returned if:

• You withdraw the application after processing starts
• The application is refused because documents are missing or invalid
• The property turns out to be exempt or in the wrong ward
• You sell the property during the processing window

This makes it worth getting the application right the first time. Submitting with an expired gas safety certificate or an EICR still showing C1 defects means losing £717.50 with nothing to show for it.

Part B is only refunded if the council refuses the application before issuing the final licence, or if a duplicate payment is processed in error.

The Fee Increase in Context

The jump from £923 to £1,025 reflects Lambeth's updated cost recovery model. For perspective, letting agents in the borough charge £300–£500 plus VAT to handle the application on a landlord's behalf — on top of the council fees. Our Lambeth landlord licensing guide covers the full fee structure, discount eligibility, and each step of the application process so you can handle it yourself.

See more England guides →