HMO and selective licensing in Westminster City Council

Westminster's selective scheme began on 24 November 2025 and covers 15 of the borough's 18 wards; the three excluded wards are listed below. Borough-wide additional HMO licensing runs under a designation made on 21 April 2026 and in force from 31 August 2026 to 30 August 2031. It replaced the first designation, and licences granted under that one remain valid until their own expiry dates.^[10]

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.^[17]

Westminster's selective scheme excludes these wards:^[10]

• Pimlico South
• St James's
• Vincent Square

Westminster provides a public property-licence register and cautions that applications still being processed do not appear in it. Keep the search result, identify whether mandatory, additional or selective licensing applies, and ask for the submission and effective dates for any application that the licensing team finds outside the public results.^[15]

1. Open the official register. Open register (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.^[19]
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.^[22]
4. Report or ask in writing. Report an unlicensed HMO (opens in new tab). Westminster provides an online form for reporting an unlicensed HMO.^[16] Ask for a reference number and keep the reply.

Westminster's selective licence conditions cover gas and electrical safety, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, repair and hazards, tenant references, waste and antisocial behaviour. For HMOs, the council publishes standards for different property types and may attach conditions requiring works to meet them. Use the conditions for the scheme shown on the register.^[12]

• 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.^[20]
• 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.

Westminster cases can fall under mandatory, additional or selective licensing depending on the address and occupancy. Check first whether the address is in one of the three excluded selective wards. An application being processed does not appear in the public register, so obtain the council's written status and the application date before drawing any conclusion.^[10][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 HMO (opens in new tab). Ask Westminster City Council whether an effective application or temporary exemption existed and when it took effect.^[16]
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.^[22]
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.^[23] 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.