Waltham Forest Licence Transfer on Property Sale: What Happens to Your Licence

Property Licences Cannot Be Transferred

Under Section 68(6) of the Housing Act 2004 (for HMO licences) and Section 91(6) (for selective licences), a property licence is personal to the licence holder. It cannot be transferred to another person or legal entity — not to a buyer, a family member, a co-owner, or a new company structure.

When you sell a licensed property in Waltham Forest, the licence does not transfer to the buyer. The seller should notify the council and request revocation of the existing licence. The new owner must submit a completely fresh application through the council's Metastreet portal, pay the full Part A and Part B fees, and go through the fit-and-proper-person assessment from scratch. There is no fast-track process for purchases of already-licensed properties.

What the Seller Must Do

1. Notify the council. Contact the LBWF licensing team at [email protected] to notify them of the sale and request revocation of the current licence.
2. Inform the buyer. Make it clear to the purchaser that the property requires a licence and that they must apply before or immediately upon completion. If the buyer intends to let the property and fails to apply, they are operating unlicensed from day one.

No refund is issued for the unexpired portion of a revoked licence. Waltham Forest's fee policy is explicit: no refunds for granted licences if the property is sold, surrendered or ceases to be let during the 5-year term.

What the Buyer Must Do

Submit a new licence application through the Metastreet portal at propertylicensing.walthamforest.gov.uk. The full fee applies:

• Selective licence: £895 (£300 Part A + £595 Part B)
• Additional HMO licence: £1,200 (£600 Part A + £600 Part B)
• Mandatory HMO licence: from £1,650

The application needs all the standard documentation — gas safety certificate, EICR, EPC, floor plan, tenancy agreements and fit-and-proper declarations. Until the application is submitted and acknowledged as "duly made," the property is legally unlicensed.

If the property is being sold to an owner-occupier, or the owner plans to revert it to a non-licensable use, the owner can apply for a Temporary Exemption Notice, which provides a 3-month window (extendable to 6 months in exceptional cases).

Variations You Can Make Without a New Application

While a licence cannot be transferred, certain changes to an existing licence can be made through a formal variation request on the Metastreet portal:

• Changing the managing agent or property manager — for example, if you switch from self-management to an agency or replace one agency with another.
• Updating emergency contact details.
• Adjusting maximum permitted occupancy — if the property layout changes (a room is removed from sleeping use, or an extension adds a bedroom).

Variations do not require a new Part A or Part B payment. They update the existing licence to reflect the operational change.

What You Cannot Vary

Changing the licence holder to a different person is not a variation — it is a transfer, and transfers are prohibited. If the property's ownership changes (including transferring from a personal name to a limited company, or between joint owners), the old licence must be revoked and a new application submitted.

For the full application process — documents, fees, portal walkthrough and the decision framework for which licence type applies — see our Waltham Forest landlord licensing guide.

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