Got our letter? This is us.
Croydon landlord? We handle your new property licence for you.
£195 fixed fee per property (the council’s own licence fee is separate). A large share of Croydon rentals need a licence by 1 September 2026.
The licence check is free.
Or write to us at hello@lettwell.co.uk
Independent service — we are not Croydon Council. You can apply yourself: croydon.gov.uk.
Lettwell Ltd · Company No. [COMPANY-NO] · ICO reg. [ICO-REG]
1.Why you’re hearing about this
Croydon’s licensing rules change on 1 September 2026
The council is introducing two new licensing schemes. From 1 September 2026:
- 14 wards: every privately rented home in those wards needs a licence. The council calls this “selective licensing”.
- The whole borough: every house-share of 3 or 4 people who aren’t one family needs a licence too. The council calls this “additional HMO licensing”.
That covers a large share of rentals in Croydon. You can check the details on the council’s own pages: croydon.gov.uk — property licensing. The schemes are made under the Housing Act 2004.
If you got our letter, it’s because public records show a property of yours that looks likely to be covered. We may be wrong — that’s why the first check is free.
2.How it works
Three steps, and it’s sorted
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You email us your address
We check the rules against your property and tell you — for free — whether you need a licence at all.
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We gather the paperwork
We send you a short list of what’s needed (gas safety, electrics, and so on), check every document, and fill in the application.
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We submit and chase
We submit your application to the council and follow it up until the council makes its decision. You get copies of everything.
3.What’s at stake
What happens if a licence isn’t in place
Renting out a property that needs a licence, without one, is an offence. Two things can follow:
- the council can issue a civil penalty of up to £30,000 per offence, or prosecute;
- tenants can apply to a tribunal for a rent repayment order — the tribunal can make you pay back up to 12 months’ rent.
Source: croydon.gov.uk and the Housing and Planning Act 2016. We state this once because it’s a fact you should know — not to alarm you. Applying on time avoids all of it.
4.What it costs
One fixed fee. No extras.
Lettwell’s fee
£195 fixed, per property
- Free check first — if your property doesn’t need a licence, you pay nothing
- Document list, collection and checking
- Application filled in and submitted to the council
- Follow-up with the council until your application is determined
- You don’t pay our fee until your application is ready to submit
Not included: the council’s own licence fee, which every landlord pays whether or not they use us. Croydon has not yet published that fee — it’s expected before the scheme starts. We will tell you the number before you commit to anything. We never guess it.
Before you pay anything, we send our full terms in writing — including your statutory 14-day cancellation (cooling-off) right where it applies.
Reminder: we are not Croydon Council, and our £195 is separate from anything the council charges.
The licence check is free.
5.Who we are
A new service, being straight with you
Lettwell is run by Daniel Mezzina-Samuels. We help small landlords get their property licences sorted — starting with Croydon’s new schemes, because they’re the next big deadline. You can write to us at the postal address in the footer, and our company and ICO registrations are there to check too.
We’re new, so we won’t show you testimonials we don’t have. Instead, judge us on things you can check: the rules we quote link to the council’s own pages, the free check costs you nothing, and you don’t pay our fee until your application is ready to submit.
And to be plain about the alternative: you can do all of this yourself, free of our fee, directly with the council at croydon.gov.uk. What we sell is the time, the form-filling, the document-checking and the chasing.
6.Questions you’ll want answered
Short answers, no small print
- Are you Croydon Council?
No. We are Lettwell, an independent private service. Nothing we send is from the council. The council’s own pages are at croydon.gov.uk.
- How do I know this isn’t a scam?
Check us, don’t trust us. Every rule we quote links to the council or to legislation. The first check is free, and you pay nothing until your application is ready to submit. Reply to the email address on this page and a named person answers.
- Can I just apply myself?
Yes — directly with the council, and we link to their pages above. Our £195 buys the form-filling, document-checking and follow-up so you don’t have to do it.
- What if my property doesn’t need a licence?
Then we tell you that, in writing, and you pay nothing. The address check is free either way.
- How much is the council’s own licence fee?
Croydon hasn’t announced it yet. It’s expected before the scheme starts. We will tell you the exact figure before you commit to anything — we never guess it or bundle it into our fee.
- Can you guarantee my licence will be granted?
No — only the council decides that, and no honest service can promise the outcome. What we do is prepare the application properly, submit it, and chase it until the council makes its decision. If the council refuses or attaches conditions, we explain what that means and what your options are.
- Can I cancel after I’ve signed up?
Yes. We send full written terms before any payment is taken, including the statutory 14-day cooling-off period where it applies. And the initial address check is free with no obligation either way.
- What happens if I do nothing?
If your property needs a licence and doesn’t have one after 1 September 2026, the council can fine you and tenants can claim rent back (the penalties are set out above). Applying on time avoids all of it.
7.One email gets it started
Find out where you stand — free
Send us your property address. We’ll reply with a plain-English answer: licence needed or not, and what happens next. No obligation.
Or write to hello@lettwell.co.uk
We are an independent service. We are not Croydon Council.