I am an accredited domestic energy assessor covering all of Lewisham: Deptford (SE8), New Cross (SE14), Brockley, Crofton Park and Ladywell (SE4), Lewisham and Hither Green (SE13), Catford and Bellingham (SE6), Forest Hill and Honor Oak (SE23), Sydenham (SE26), and Lee and Grove Park (SE12). There is no travel surcharge anywhere inside Greater London.
| Households (2021 census) | 122,393 |
|---|---|
| Rented privately | 27.2% (London 30.0%) |
| Owned outright or with a mortgage | 41.9% (London 45.2%) |
| Social rented | 29.2% (London 23.1%) |
| Households living in a flat | 57.7% (London 54.0%) |
| …of which in a converted house | 16.3% of all households (London 11.1%) |
| Households in a house | 42.2% (London 45.9%) |
| Typical (median) EPC score | 70, band C (London 70) |
| Homes with an EPC rated C or above | 56% (London 58%) |
| Selective licence | Nearly all private lets since 1 July 2024; £640 (£160 + £480) |
| Documents for the selective licence | EPC, EICR, gas safety certificate (or no-gas declaration) |
| 3 or more people from 2 or more households | HMO licence instead |
Sources: Census 2021, Office for National Statistics, tables TS054 (tenure) and TS044 (accommodation type) via Nomis; London means the 33 local authorities added together. Licensing: Lewisham Council’s “Selective licensing” page, checked 22 October 2026. EPC figures: ONS, “Energy efficiency of housing in England and Wales” (28 October 2025), the latest certificate for each home lodged in the ten years to March 2025, at the score when it was assessed; homes without an EPC are not counted.
Lewisham licenses nearly every rented home
Lewisham’s selective licensing scheme came into effect on 1 July 2024, after government approval in December 2023. It covers around 20,000 properties: nearly all privately rented homes in the borough that are not already under the HMO licensing schemes. It does not apply where the council did not have the evidence to justify it, such as Telegraph Hill and parts of Blackheath, and the council’s interactive map shows whether an address is included. Homes rented to three or more people forming two or more households need an HMO licence instead. Lodgers who share your own home do not need a selective licence, though two or more lodgers can make the home an HMO.
The basic fee is £640: £160 when you apply and £480 when the licence is granted. Discounts for early applications, accredited landlords and eligible charities come off the second payment. A licence usually lasts five years, though the council can issue a shorter one.
The selective licence needs an EPC
Lewisham’s list of documents for a selective licence is short, and the EPC is on it: an Energy Performance Certificate, an electrical installation condition report, and a gas safety certificate or a declaration that there is no gas supply. If your certificate has expired, or the home has never had one, that is the document to sort out first — a valid EPC is needed to let the home anyway, and most privately rented homes must be rated E or above unless an exemption has been registered (the landlord guide explains). Check your current certificate’s date before you apply. If you want a floor plan for the listing as well, it can be measured in the same visit, from £123 with the EPC. Checked on the council’s selective licensing page on 22 October 2026; City Hall’s property licence checker shows the scheme on a map.
What the assessment looks at in a Lewisham home
How homes in Lewisham score today. The ONS’s latest figures use each home’s most recent EPC lodged in the ten years to March 2025. The typical (median) score here is 70, band C, against 70 across London, and 56% of those homes are rated C or above (London 58%). Homes built before 1929 have a median of 64, against 84 for homes built since 2012; flats and maisonettes come out at 72, terraced houses at 65. How every London borough compares.
Lewisham is more mixed than inner London: 57.7% of households live in a flat and 42.2% in a house, and 26.2% live in a terraced house, more than the London share of 21.3%.
Victorian and Edwardian streets
Brockley is rich in Victorian and Edwardian houses, protected by a conservation area; in the late nineteenth century the Tyrwhitt-Drake family built grand villas, large terraces and semi-detached houses on its north side, and Chalsey Road, the last street in today’s conservation area, was finished in 1900. Many houses of that age across the borough are now flats — 16.3% of households live in a converted house. Their walls are usually solid, recorded as built unless there is evidence of insulation, and a loft conversion or rear extension is recorded with its own age, so any building control paperwork helps.
Cottage estates, prefabs and post-war blocks
Bellingham was built by the London County Council as a cottage estate between 1919 and 1923, and its Passfields Estate of 1949 to 1951 is Grade II listed. Nearby, the Excalibur Estate was in 2011 the largest surviving prefab estate in Britain; most of it was demolished for redevelopment between 2023 and 2025, and six houses were kept and listed. Deptford’s Pepys Estate opened in 1966 on the old Victualling Yard, and Forest Hill has art deco mansion blocks such as Forest Croft and Taymount Grange. Houses and flats of these different decades are built in very different ways, so the assessment records the walls, roof and floors as they are, and any evidence of later insulation can lift the result.
Selling in Lewisham
41.9% of Lewisham households own their home. If you are selling, the EPC must be ordered before the home goes on the market; the sellers’ guide covers the timing and whether an older certificate will still do.
Prices
- Domestic EPC from £69
- EPC + floor plan from £123, in one visit
- Floor plan only from £69
Guide prices by size: £69 up to 52 square metres, which covers most one-bedroom flats, £75 for two bedrooms, £85 for many two- and three-bedroom houses (71 to 95 square metres) and £90 up to 110. Confirmed in writing before you book. How EPC prices compare across London.
Common questions
Do I need a selective licence in Lewisham?
Almost certainly, if you let a home privately. The scheme started on 1 July 2024 and covers nearly all privately rented homes not already under HMO licensing, though not places such as Telegraph Hill and parts of Blackheath. The council’s map shows whether your address is included.
What documents does a Lewisham selective licence need?
An Energy Performance Certificate, an electrical installation condition report, and a gas safety certificate or a declaration that there is no gas supply.
How much is a Lewisham selective licence?
The basic fee is £640: £160 when you apply and £480 when the licence is granted. Discounts for early applications, accredited landlords and eligible charities come off the second payment.
Do I need a licence if I take in a lodger?
Not a selective licence: lodgers who share your own home do not need one. Two or more lodgers can make the home a house in multiple occupation, which needs an HMO licence.
How much is an EPC in Lewisham?
From £69 for a home of up to 52 square metres, which covers a typical one-bedroom flat, £75 for two bedrooms and £85 for 71 to 95 square metres, rising with floor area. There is no travel surcharge anywhere in Greater London.
Nearby
Next door: Southwark, Greenwich and Bromley, with Tower Hamlets across the river. I cover every London borough.