Sydenham Landlords: HMO Licensing and Leak Duties

If you let a shared house in Sydenham, you almost certainly need a licence from Lewisham Council, and you are responsible for fixing leaks in it. Lewisham runs borough-wide additional HMO licensing from 5 April 2022 to 4 April 2027, which covers houses with three or four unrelated people sharing facilities, on top of the national mandatory scheme for larger HMOs. Thames Water is clear that in a rented home “your landlord is responsible for fixing leaks”. In Sydenham’s converted Victorian houses, the practical part is knowing which stopcock serves which unit, giving tenants a “water off” sheet, and keeping a record of every repair.

The licensing basics

• Mandatory HMO licensing applies everywhere in England to houses with five or more people forming two or more households.
• Lewisham’s additional licensing extends that across the whole borough to smaller HMOs with three or four unrelated sharers. It runs from 5 April 2022 to 4 April 2027.
• Sydenham, SE26, is in the London Borough of Lewisham, so it is covered.

Check lewisham.gov.uk/HMOlicensing for the exact definitions, fees, conditions and what happens after April 2027. This guide is about the plumbing side, not legal advice.

Licence conditions typically expect the property to be kept in good repair and for the landlord to respond to problems promptly. Leaks that go unrepaired, and the damp and mould that follow, are among the things that cause trouble with a licence and with tenants.

Your leak duties as a Sydenham landlord

• Fix leaks. Internal plumbing, the supply pipe under the garden to your boundary, and the private drain serving only your property are yours.
• Act fast on emergencies. Water through a ceiling, no water, or a single toilet out of action is a same-day job.
• Fix known leaks in time. Thames Water expects a leak on your side to be fixed within four weeks of you knowing about it. If the property is metered, doing so may let you claim a leak allowance.
• Shared drains are Thames Water’s. Since October 2011, drains serving two or more properties are the water company’s to repair.

Why Sydenham’s HMOs leak in their own way

Sydenham runs from the grand Victorian villas and tall terraces of Sydenham Hill and Kirkdale down to the smaller terraces of Lower Sydenham and Bell Green. Many of the big houses have been split into flats or let as shared houses. That brings:

• One supply feeding several units, with no isolation valve for each flat or room.
• Shared soil stacks with bathrooms stacked floor on floor.
• Leaks that travel. Water from a top-floor shower can appear two floors down, in someone else’s room.
• Lead and iron pipework that has never been replaced.
• Cellars on the slope that take ground water after a wet spell, which tenants often mistake for a leak.

A practical plan for each property

1. Find every stopcock and isolation valve in the building and label them.
2. Draw a simple plan showing which valve serves which flat, bathroom or kitchen.
3. Give every tenant a one-page “water off” sheet: where the main stopcock is, how to turn it, where the consumer unit is, and who to call.
4. Fit isolation valves so each unit, or at least each bathroom, can be turned off on its own.
5. Check shower seals, bath panels, waste traps and toilets at every inspection.
6. Read the water meter at each inspection, and again after an hour with everything off.
7. Lag pipes in lofts and on outside walls before winter.
8. Keep a dated log of every report, repair and inspection, with photos.

That log is useful twice over: as evidence for the licence and for any insurance claim.

Damp in the cellar: leak or ground water?

On Sydenham’s slopes, a damp cellar after rain is often ground water running down the hill, not a plumbing leak. The meter test tells you which: if the meter is still with everything off, the water is coming from outside. If it moves, there is a leak somewhere. That matters, because ground water is a building and drainage issue, not a plumber’s leak repair.

Tenants and access

Agree in writing what a tenant may do if water is pouring and they cannot reach you, such as calling us and authorising an emergency visit. Give us the tenants’ numbers when you call, and we will arrange access with them directly.

Insurance

Landlord buildings insurance usually covers escape of water damage, and many policies include trace and access to find a hidden leak. The failed part itself is usually excluded. Our report sets out what failed and why, which insurers need. For a different borough’s approach, see our Eltham landlord leak plan.

Gas boilers and appliances need a Gas Safe registered engineer and an annual gas safety record. We do not do gas work.

When to call

Call us for a leak in a let: water through a ceiling, a burst pipe, a running meter, a hidden leak. We cover water leaks in Sydenham and leak detection in Sydenham. More on the area is on our Sydenham area page.

Need a plumber now?

Call 07868 281022 and tell us the postcode, which flat or floor is affected, whether the water is off, and the tenant’s number. We agree the price with you before any work starts.