Selective licensing Westminster: landlord licences in 2026

Landlord licence Westminster at a glance

Sources: Westminster City Council pages listed under Sources, checked 21 October 2026.

How big is the private rented sector in Westminster?

The 2021 Census counted 94,816 households in Westminster, and 41,065 of them (43.3%) rented from a private landlord or letting agent, or rented privately in another way. Across England and Wales the figure was 20.3%, so Westminster's private rented share is more than double the national average. Westminster had the 17th largest number of private renting households of any of the 331 local authorities, and the 2nd highest share. 25,962 households (27.4%) were owner-occupiers and 26,810 (28.3%) were social renters.

Only the City of London had a higher private renting share. The council itself estimates more than 56,000 homes, around 43% of residential accommodation, are privately rented.

Selective licensing in Westminster

Selective licensing applies to privately rented homes that aren't HMOs: homes let to a single household or family, and homes with fewer than 3 tenants that don't meet the HMO definition. It covers 15 wards across two designations (listed in the table above). The three wards outside the scheme are Pimlico South, St James's and Vincent Square, so a single-household let there doesn't need a selective licence.

Each property needs its own licence. If you let several flats in one block, check the multiple-leasehold discount below before applying.

Westminster additional HMO licensing from 31 August 2026

Westminster first introduced additional HMO licensing on 30 August 2021. After consultation, the Cabinet decided on 16 March 2026 to renew it; the new designation was made on 21 April 2026, came into force on 31 August 2026, and runs until 30 August 2031. It applies across the whole city to shared houses and flats where 3 or more people from 2 or more households share basic amenities such as a kitchen or bathroom, including flat shares, bedsits and some converted flats outside mandatory licensing. Licences granted under the previous scheme stay valid until their expiry dates, and renewal applications can be made up to 3 months before expiry.

Mandatory HMO licensing in Westminster

Mandatory licensing covers HMOs with 5 or more people forming 2 or more households. Westminster notes that individual flats in purpose-built blocks of 3 or more flats, and buildings fully converted into self-contained flats, don't need a mandatory licence, though flats inside converted buildings may need one if 5 or more people live there. In practice most of those properties now fall under the additional scheme instead.

Westminster landlord licence fees

As published by the council. Selective licence: £995, paid as £543 (Part A, on application) and £452 (Part B, once granted). Discounts come off Part B: 10% of the total fee (£99.50) for accredited landlords; £90.40 for an EPC rated B or above, or £45.20 for EPC C; and £125 for multiple leaseholds in the same freehold applied for together. Registered charities housing vulnerable people pay nothing but must still apply.

HMO licence (mandatory and additional), up to 5 bedrooms, since 1 April 2025: £1,540, made up of £855 Part A and £685 Part B, plus £68 for each additional bedroom or letting.

Councils usually split a licence fee into two parts: one paid when you apply, covering processing, and one paid before the licence is granted, covering running and enforcing the scheme. Where the council publishes the split, we show it above. Fees are reviewed regularly, so treat these as correct on the date we checked and confirm on the council's fee page before you pay.

Do I need a landlord licence in Westminster? A quick check

1. Count the people and households living in the property.
2. If 5 or more people from 2 or more households share facilities, you need a mandatory HMO licence.
3. If 3 or 4 people from 2 or more households share amenities anywhere in Westminster, you need an additional HMO licence.
4. If it's a single-household let, or 2 sharers, in any ward except Pimlico South, St James's or Vincent Square, you need a selective licence.
5. If none of these apply, no property licence is needed, but the national duties below still do.

People also ask about landlord licensing in Westminster

Do I need a landlord licence in Westminster? Almost certainly. Selective licensing covers 15 of 18 wards and additional HMO licensing covers the whole city.

Which Westminster wards are not in selective licensing? Pimlico South, St James's and Vincent Square.

How much is a Westminster selective licence? £995 (£543 plus £452), before discounts.

What every Westminster landlord must do, licence or not

A property licence doesn't replace the national rules; it adds to them. In Westminster, as everywhere in England, a landlord must also:

• get an annual gas safety check from a Gas Safe registered engineer and hand tenants the record;
• arrange an electrical installation condition report (EICR) at least every 5 years;
• let only with an EPC of band E or better, unless an exemption is registered;
• protect a tenancy deposit within 30 days in an approved scheme;
• provide working smoke alarms on each storey and carbon monoxide alarms where there's a fixed combustion appliance, other than a gas cooker;
• check every adult tenant's Right to Rent before the tenancy begins.

Licence applications in most councils ask you to upload the gas record, EICR and EPC, so having them in date before you apply saves a round of requests.

What happens if you let without the right licence in Westminster?

Councils treat unlicensed letting seriously. It's a criminal offence that can lead to prosecution and an unlimited fine, or a civil penalty of up to £40,000 per offence (the maximum rose from £30,000 on 1 May 2026). Tenants can also ask the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order of up to 24 months' rent. Councils including Westminster, Brighton & Hove and Islington spell these figures out on their licensing pages. A duly made application is your protection, so don't wait for the council to find the property first.

Keeping to your licence conditions

Getting the licence is a one-off; keeping to its conditions lasts the life of the licence, which is usually up to 5 years. Conditions commonly require you to produce a current gas safety certificate on request, keep alarms in working order, supply electrical test results, and manage repairs and tenancy paperwork properly.

Gaffy is built for that ongoing part. You keep each property's gas certificate, EICR, EPC and licence in one vault with expiry dates, and Gaffy warns you before anything runs out. Tenants report repairs from a link that opens in their phone's browser, so every problem arrives with photos and a date, and you can show the council a clear repair log. It costs £12 a month for up to 5 properties and £4 a month for each additional property, with the first month free. We don't make licence applications for you.