W2: letting and licensing

For a flat in a block above 11 m in W2, you need either a current FRAEW (Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls under PAS 9980) or the legacy EWS1 form (still accepted by most lenders for evidence purposes). Get the form from the freeholder — you should not pay for the building survey yourself — and keep the dated copy with the tenancy records. Westminster City Council cladding-remediation status updates are also worth checking before any new corporate let.

It depends on the exact address and property type. Westminster City Council publishes a postcode or ward checker. W2 includes Bayswater, Hyde Park, Lancaster Gate, Little Venice, Paddington. The outward code also reaches Ealing and Kensington and Chelsea, which is a different licensing authority. Run the full postal address on the council checker before assuming no licence is required: designations are drawn by ward or street, not by postcode.

England-wide duties apply regardless of local licensing: Gas Safety (annual CP12), EICR every 5 years, EPC band E minimum (MEES), deposit protection within 30 days, Right to Rent checks before move-in, and smoke + CO alarm rules. Get any of these wrong and Section 21, RROs and civil penalties all follow.

Student, HMO-dense and regeneration postcodes in London typically see more unannounced inspections, licence audits and follow-ups from environmental health. Keep certificates, licences and tenant documents in one place and renew before expiry. Unlicensed letting can attract civil penalties up to £40,000 and Rent Repayment Orders of up to two years' rent.

The fee is set by Westminster City Council for each scheme it runs, and it is usually split into an amount payable with the application and a second amount payable before the licence is granted. Some councils discount an early renewal or an accredited landlord. Where we have the current figure it is printed on the council page above; otherwise take it from the council's own fees page, because fees change between designations.

If the council area is subject to an Article 4 Direction for C3 to C4 use, you need full planning permission to let to 3 or more unrelated sharers. Westminster City Council publishes its Article 4 map. Large HMOs (sui generis, 7+ sharers) always need planning permission.

No. Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026 across England, including London, and every assured shorthold tenancy became an assured periodic tenancy, so possession now runs on a Section 8 ground. The deposit still matters: section 215 of the Housing Act 2004, as substituted by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, blocks a possession order while a deposit is unprotected or the prescribed information has not been given, on every ground except 7A and 14. A missing gas record or EPC does not bar a Section 8 claim, though it is an offence in its own right and a tenant can raise it in defence of a disrepair or possession case.

Specialist landlord buildings insurance with landlord liability (often £2m+), optional contents for furnished items, loss of rent and legal expenses. For HMOs, check the insurer explicitly covers HMO use and the number of occupants - standard buy-to-let policies often exclude HMOs.