HMO licensing in Hammersmith & Fulham

The published fee for a new HMO licence is £1,656. Fees can depend on the number of occupants or lettings, and they are reviewed each year.

Mandatory HMO licence: £1,656 for a 5-bedroom HMO plus £183 for each additional bedroom. Additional HMO licence: £755 flat fee. Selective licence: £755 flat fee. A £80 discount is available for landlords accredited with a recognised body (e.g. NRLA, London Landlord Accreditation Scheme) or a £50 discount for signing the council's landlord rental charter; only one discount can be applied per licence. Payment must be made online; the council does not accept cheques or cash. No separate renewal fee or Part A/B instalment split is published.

Fee source: lbhf.gov.uk. Fees change during the year, so check the council before you apply.

Fees for council-designated schemes are set separately from the mandatory HMO fee. Figures are the standard full-rate fee for a new licence, before any discounts.

National minimums for licensed HMOs are 6.51 m² for one adult and 10.22 m² for two adults; councils can apply higher local standards.

• 30-minute fire-resistant doors (with intumescent strips, cold smoke seals, self-closers and thumb-turn locks) are required on all doors opening onto the protected escape route other than bathrooms/WCs.
• Two-storey bedsit HMOs require a Grade D, LD2 mains-wired interlinked smoke/heat alarm system; three-or-more-storey HMOs require a Grade A, LD2 system with a control panel, sounders and manual call points, to BS 5839 Part 6.
• Emergency lighting to BS 5266 is mandatory for 3+ storey HMOs with dark or complex escape routes and for all bedsit-type HMOs.
• A Fire Risk Assessment must be carried out and regularly reviewed under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 by a 'responsible person' or competent professional.
• All furniture and furnishings supplied with the letting must comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) Regulations 1988.

• One bathroom/shower room, one toilet and one wash hand basin is required for up to 4 occupants, rising to 2 toilets for 6-9 occupants and 2 bathrooms plus 3 toilets for 10+ occupants.
• Shared kitchens need one cooker, sink and 245-litre fridge/freezer per 5 occupants, with minimum kitchen size scaling from 4 m² (up to 4 people) upward, or a combined kitchen/lounge of at least 12.5-16 m² depending on occupancy.
• Fixed space heating must maintain at least 21°C in habitable rooms/bathrooms and 18°C elsewhere when it is -1°C outside; fixed electric heaters in older solid-wall properties are only acceptable in small rooms (up to 9.3 m²) meeting strict insulation and exposure conditions.
• Suitable refuse and recycling storage must be provided per household (minimum 200 litres refuse / 160 litres recycling for 1-3 people, scaling up for larger households), kept off the public highway outside collection times.
• Electrical installations must be inspected and tested at least every 5 years under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector Regulations 2020.

• Gas safety certificate (CP12) — Annual check by a Gas Safe engineer; copy provided to each tenant within 28 days and kept for 2 years.
• EICR — Electrical Installation Condition Report at intervals of no more than 5 years.
• EPC — Valid Energy Performance Certificate of E or above, unless a registered exemption applies.
• Floor plans — Plans of the property showing room sizes, required for mandatory and additional licence applications (hand-drawn plans accepted if legible).
• Fire risk assessment — Assessment of means of escape, alarms and fire precautions under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

• lbhf.gov.uk
• lbhf.gov.uk
• lbhf.gov.uk

Compiled from the council’s own published pages and documents; data reviewed September 2026. Rules and fees change, so always confirm with London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham before applying. This is general information, not legal advice.