Bexley: selective licensing in Belvedere Ward
Bexley operates selective licensing in Belvedere Ward from 13 January 2025 to 12 January 2030. Mandatory HMO licensing applies borough-wide to five or more people from two or more households, regardless of storeys. The council provides an address checker, online applications and dated licensing registers.
Belvedere is the selective area
Bexley's selective designation covers Belvedere Ward. It was designated on 3 October 2024, became operative on 13 January 2025 and is due to end on 12 January 2030. Mandatory Part 2 HMOs and statutory exemptions are excluded from the selective scheme, so identify the property type before choosing the application route.
Mandatory licensing has no storey limit
Borough-wide mandatory licensing applies to five or more people forming two or more households, regardless of the number of storeys. HMOs with fewer than five people need a property-specific check if they are in the Belvedere selective area; do not carry over the old three-storey threshold.
Accreditation affects the fee
Bexley displays £350 plus £330 per letting for a mandatory HMO licence and £350 plus £480 for a selective licence. A renewal is £350 plus £205 per letting. Accreditation before application gives a £50 discount, and licence holders or agents must become accredited within twelve months. Confirm the current schedule and what counts as a letting before paying.
Check the dated registers
Bexley provides an online property checker and application routes for HMO and selective licences. Its current scheme page links registers dated 10 August 2026 for HMO and selective licences and 21 May 2026 for Temporary Exemption Notices. A register entry is evidence to check, not a substitute for confirming current conditions and expiry.
Enforcement and planning
The council describes an unlimited fine on prosecution, civil penalties of up to £30,000, rent repayment orders of up to twelve months and Interim Management Orders. A borough-wide HMO Article 4 Direction has required permission for C3-to-C4 changes since 24 September 2017. Planning permission remains separate from licensing.
Verify the Belvedere boundary, current fees, property checker, registers and Article 4 direction via Bexley Council's official property-licensing and planning pages. Illustrative guide - schemes, fees and boundaries change; general information, not legal advice.
Renewal tracked from expiry, reminders from 60 days out, proof of service to tenants logged. Knows the 2-month early-renewal rule that keeps your date fixed.
Five years goes quicker than you think. Kept remembers so you don't have to - including the 28-day duty to give tenants a copy.
Expiry tracked from the certificate details you confirm - band E is the current minimum for most domestic private lets unless exempt, and proposed changes are flagged only when they become law.
30-day protection window tracked from the day the money lands - not the tenancy date - with prescribed information logged.
Check dates and follow-up dates for time-limited permissions, stored against each tenant.
Smoke alarms every storey, CO alarms where required, checked and dated at the start of every tenancy.
A one-off duty for tenancies that existed on 1 May 2026. Who was served, when, and how - the £7,000 question, answered with a dated record.
Preparation and export support for the future official registration process - clearly marked as planned.
Selective licensing: Belvedere Ward to 12 Jan 2030. See the local picture above - every other duty applies exactly as it does nationwide.
Add a postcode and Kept resolves the council, location and local context automatically.
Planned preparation and export support for the government's regional PRS Database rollout.