HMO and selective licensing in Wandsworth Council

Wandsworth has operated borough-wide additional HMO licensing since 1 July 2025. Selective licensing began the same day in Furzedown, Tooting Bec, Tooting Broadway and South Balham. It expanded in April 2026 to East Putney, West Putney and Northcote, giving seven selective wards, listed below. A single-household rental outside those wards needs no licence, while the same flat inside one does.^[15]

Subject to statutory exemptions, a large HMO shared by at least five people from more than one household needs a mandatory licence anywhere in England. The property licensing guide sets out the national tests that sit behind every local scheme.^[19]

Wandsworth's selective scheme covers these wards:^[15]

• Furzedown
• Tooting Bec
• Tooting Broadway
• South Balham
• East Putney
• West Putney
• Northcote

Wandsworth's register of licensed properties is on its Regulatory Services hub, and the council's licensing FAQs say you must create an account before viewing it. The check-if-you-need-a-licence page has an interactive map, with no sign-in, showing which ward a postcode is in.^[15]

1. Check the ward on the map, then sign in for the register. Check if you need a licence (opens in new tab)^[15]
2. Search the exact address. Save a dated screenshot or download of the result. Councils must keep a register of licences, temporary exemption notices and management orders and make it available for inspection.^[21]
3. Ask about applications and exemptions. A missing entry is a reason to investigate, not proof of an offence, so ask whether a licence, application or exemption covered the dates you rented there.^[24]
4. Report or ask in writing. Report an unlicensed property (opens in new tab). The council provides a dedicated online form for reporting an unlicensed privately rented property.^[18] Ask for a reference number and keep the reply.

Wandsworth publishes separate condition sets for mandatory, additional and selective licences, covering safety, occupation, management, waste and antisocial behaviour. Selective licences and additional HMO licences carry different conditions, so check the conditions on your home's own licence.^[17]

• National conditions are the floor. Every licence carries the prescribed conditions on gas, electrics, alarms, tenancy terms and waste, and can last up to five years; the property licensing guide lists them in full.^[22]
• Compare the licence with reality. The register entry or licence may identify the manager, the permitted occupancy and property-specific conditions. Check those details against how the home is actually occupied and managed.
• Keep separate evidence of hazards. A licence does not establish continuing compliance. Report disrepair or an immediate safety risk separately, and keep photographs, messages and certificates.

Whether a home needed a licence depends on its type, its ward and when you rented it. A single-household flat in East Putney, West Putney or Northcote needed a selective licence only from April 2026, while one in Furzedown, Tooting Bec, Tooting Broadway or South Balham needed it from July 2025. Check the ward on the council's map and save it.^[15]

1. Confirm the scheme and dates. Match the address, occupancy and rental period to the designation in force at the time.
2. Ask the council in writing. Report an unlicensed property (opens in new tab). Ask Wandsworth Council whether an effective application or temporary exemption existed and when it took effect.^[18]
3. Check the legal position. An application, an exemption, a reasonable excuse or the identity of the person legally responsible (the "person managing or controlling" the property) can all affect whether an offence is proved.^[24]
4. Preserve the evidence. Keep the tenancy, rent payments, proof of occupation, dated searches and council correspondence.

For a licensing offence committed on or after the 1 May 2026 rule change, a tenant can ask the First-tier Tribunal for up to two years' rent, and normally has two years from the offence to apply. The tenant must prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt, and the tribunal decides any award from the statutory factors and evidence; recovery is never automatic.^[25] Older offence periods may be governed by earlier limits. Free housing advice is available from Shelter and Citizens Advice, and local law centres can help with tribunal cases.