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Following Lewisham Council’s response to our Freedom of Information request (Ref 33066881), The Big Retort has discovered a clear contradiction in the Council’s own data regarding its refusal to allow an HMO due to the "one household only" policy in its leases.

The Council stated that since launching its Additional HMO Licensing Scheme on 5 April 2022, no licences have been refused on the basis of the “one household only” clause. Yet The Big Retort holds a copy of a refusal letter dated 17 September 2025, which explicitly cites that same clause.

Lewisham also admitted that it has no policy, no legal guidance, and no Equality Impact Assessment for applying the clause in licensing decisions. Despite this, it has warned or advised 119 leaseholders that their leases prevent licensing, and issued two Temporary Exemption Notices on that basis.

What happened to the other 117 households? The Council has provided no information on outcomes or enforcement, leaving open the possibility that leaseholders were informally discouraged from completing applications — a practice without written policy or accountability.

The Big Retort has filed a follow-up FOI asking Lewisham to explain how its refusal was recorded, what became of the 119 warned leaseholders, and whether any enforcement, fines, or Rent Repayment Orders followed.

Link to follow once the request is published on WhatDoTheyKnow.

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