Housing Act 2004 in Lewisham: What Landlords Must Know About Parts 2 and 3

Every property licence in Lewisham — selective, additional HMO and mandatory HMO — exists because of the Housing Act 2004. The Act created the legal framework that gives councils the power to require licences, set conditions, inspect properties and impose penalties. If you are a landlord in Lewisham, three parts of the Act directly affect you.

Part 2: HMO Licensing

Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004 governs the licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation. It establishes two routes:

Mandatory HMO licensing (section 55) applies nationally to any HMO occupied by five or more persons forming two or more households who share basic amenities. This has applied across England since 1 October 2018 (following the 2018 expansion that removed the three-storey requirement). In Lewisham, it operates borough-wide and permanently — it is not a time-limited local scheme.

Additional HMO licensing (section 56) allows a council to extend licensing to HMOs that do not meet the mandatory threshold. Lewisham used this power to introduce a borough-wide additional scheme from 22 April 2022 to 21 April 2027, covering smaller HMOs with three or four occupants from two or more households sharing basic amenities.

Section 72 is the offence provision for Part 2. Under section 72(1), a person commits an offence if they are a person having control of or managing an HMO that is required to be licensed but is not. The penalty on conviction is an unlimited fine. For offences committed on or after 1 May 2026, the council can instead impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000 under the Housing Act 2004; the previous maximum for earlier offences was £30,000.

Before 1 May 2026, section 75 also prevented a section 21 notice from being given while a property that required an HMO licence was unlicensed. Section 21 has since been abolished for private assured tenancies in England.

Part 3: Selective Licensing

Part 3 gives councils the power to designate areas where all privately rented properties (not just HMOs) require a licence. Lewisham's selective scheme covers 16 of 18 wards from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2029.

Section 95 is the corresponding offence provision for Part 3. Under section 95(1), a person commits an offence if they are a person having control of or managing a property that is required to be licensed under Part 3 but is not. The penalties mirror Part 2 — an unlimited fine on conviction, or a civil penalty of up to £40,000 for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026 (up to £30,000 for earlier offences).

Before 1 May 2026, section 98 restricted section 21 notices for unlicensed selective-licensed properties, paralleling the Part 2 restriction. Section 21 has since been abolished for private assured tenancies in England.

How Parts 2 and 3 Interact in Lewisham

A critical principle under the Act is that HMO licensing displaces selective licensing. If a property requires a licence under Part 2 (because it meets the HMO occupancy threshold), it cannot also require a selective licence under Part 3. You do not pay both fees — you apply for the HMO licence alone.

This means the classification sequence matters: check occupancy first, then ward location. A property with five or more occupants from two or more households sharing basic amenities needs a mandatory HMO licence (Part 2, borough-wide). A property with three or four occupants from two or more households sharing basic amenities needs an additional HMO licence (Part 2, borough-wide). Only single-household lets and two-sharer properties fall to Part 3 (selective licensing, ward-dependent).

The Renters' Rights Act Connection

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 does not replace the Housing Act 2004's licensing framework — it builds on it. The most relevant changes for landlords:

• Rent repayment orders can cover up to 24 months' rent for relevant offences under the new framework, which took effect on 1 May 2026; earlier offences remain subject to the previous 12-month maximum
• Section 21 abolition took effect for private assured tenancies on 1 May 2026, ending no-fault evictions under that route
• The Decent Homes Standard is due to apply to the private rented sector from 2035, adding a minimum property condition standard alongside existing HHSRS inspections

The Housing Act 2004 continues to underpin local licensing. The obligation to hold a licence and the conditions attached to it remain in force, while the Renters' Rights Act 2025 has changed parts of the related enforcement framework.

What This Means in Practice

The Housing Act 2004 is not background reading — it is the source of every obligation, every penalty and every protection that comes with property licensing in Lewisham. Understanding which part applies to your property determines which licence you need, what conditions attach to it, and what the consequences are if you get it wrong.

The Lewisham licensing guide translates the Act's requirements into a step-by-step process for all three schemes, covering the application, documents, fees, conditions and the penalties the council can impose.

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