Lewisham Selective Licensing Fees: Costs, Discounts and Payment Structure

A selective licence in Lewisham costs £640 per property at the standard rate. The fee is split into two payments, and accredited landlords can reduce the total by claiming a discount on the second instalment.

The Two-Part Fee Structure

Lewisham splits the selective licensing fee following the Hemming v Westminster principle — the processing cost is separated from the ongoing enforcement cost:

Part A covers the council's administrative processing: reviewing your documents, checking the fit-and-proper declaration, and running the ward and occupancy assessment. You pay this through the MetaStreet portal by card when you submit the application.

Part B covers the cost of ongoing compliance monitoring, inspections and enforcement over the five-year licence term. The council invoices Part B after it decides to grant the licence, alongside a draft licence and Notice of Intent.

The Accreditation Discount

Landlords accredited with the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) or the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS) qualify for a discount on Part B, reducing it from £480 to £352.

The discount applies to Part B only. Part A stays at £160 regardless.

To claim the discount, upload your accreditation certificate or membership confirmation during the portal application. The accreditation must be current and valid at the time of submission — expired or lapsed membership does not qualify.

If you are not yet accredited, check the LLAS's current training and accreditation requirements before applying. The reported Part B reduction saves £128 on a single selective licence.

How Selective Fees Compare to HMO Fees

The selective licence fee is per property, not per room. HMO licence fees work differently:

A five-bedroom mandatory HMO at standard rates costs £2,500 (5 × £500). A selective licence for a single-household let costs £640 regardless of the property's size.

HMO fees also offer an accredited rate (£400 per unit) and a charity rate (Part B waived, £250 per unit).

What Happens If the Application Is Refused

Part A is non-refundable for refusals based on incomplete documents, fit-and-proper failures, or planning enforcement. A full refund applies if the property was not legally subject to licensing when the application was submitted.

Losing a £160 Part A fee to a preventable error is the kind of cost that makes a pre-submission document check worthwhile. Make sure every certificate — EICR, gas safety, EPC — is valid on the date you click submit, not the date you first uploaded it.

Early Bird Discounts

Lewisham offered early-bird discounts when the additional HMO scheme launched in 2022 (£400 total for applications before 5 April 2022). Those windows have closed and no early-bird rate applies to the current selective licensing scheme.

Refunds

A full refund of both Part A and Part B is available only if the application was submitted for a property that was never legally subject to licensing — for example, a postcode error that placed it in the wrong borough. Partial refunds of Part A may be possible if you withdraw a pending application before the council determines it, minus the administrative and inspection costs already incurred.

The Lewisham Landlord Licensing Guide includes the full fee schedule for all three schemes, discount eligibility rules, and a pre-submission checklist to avoid losing your Part A fee to a rejected application.

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