Selective licensing · Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council Designation for Areas for Selective Licensing 2025 No. 1 (council page name: Selective licensing designation 1)
- Status
- In force
- Runs
- 24 November 2025 to 23 November 2030
- Designated
- 24 June 2025
- Fee
- £995 per property, paid in two parts: £543 when you apply and £452 when the licence is granted. Discounts come off the second part: £99.50 for accredited landlords (LLAS, NRLA, UKALA, ARLA, RICS, Safeagent or Propertymark), £90.40 for an EPC of B or above and £45.20 for an EPC of C. Apply at the same time for several flats you own and manage in the same block and each one after the first is £125 less. Registered charities that house only vulnerable people pay nothing but still have to apply. You lose the discounts if the council has had to ask twice for documents. The same goes if it has sent you a warning letter for not licensing or found the property unlicensed.
- Applies to
- Privately rented homes in eight wards (Abbey Road, Church Street, Harrow Road, Knightsbridge and Belgravia, Little Venice, Maida Vale, Queen's Park and Westbourne) let to one household, a single tenant or two people sharing. Exempt: HMOs that need a mandatory or additional HMO licence, social landlord lets, homes under a management order or with a temporary exemption, and the kinds of letting exempt nationally. Flats in a converted block (a section 257 HMO) need a selective licence when each is let to one household. A lodger who shares your own home doesn't normally need one.
Our records last verified 18 October 2026 · council designation page · licence conditions
Area covered
The designation covers these wards, as they were drawn when the scheme was made:
- Abbey Road
- Church Street
- Harrow Road
- Knightsbridge and Belgravia
- Little Venice
- Maida Vale
- Queen’s Park
- Westbourne
Westminster City Council also runs its own address-level lookup: check whether a specific address falls inside the scheme.
What this means for landlords
Selective licensing applies to privately rented homes of any size in the designated area, including single lets. Letting an unlicensed property inside the area can mean a civil penalty of up to £40,000 and a rent repayment order of up to 24 months’ rent.
Is your property inside the scheme area?
This checker reflects HouseFile’s records of council licensing designations, not the councils’ live registers. Our records indicate the position at the verification date shown on each result. Schemes are designated, renewed and revoked throughout the year, and postcode-level lookups are approximate near scheme boundaries. Always confirm with the council before letting or buying a property, using the source link on each card. This is general information, not legal advice.
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