Greenwich
Verified local trades for Greenwich
London Heroes covers Greenwich around the clock. Every professional is identity-checked by a human, has their credentials verified against evidence and watched for expiry, and every payment is held securely until you confirm the work is done.
Landlord licensing in Greenwich
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England. Greenwich may also operate additional or selective licensing.
- Selective licensing
- In operation. Greenwich operates a selective licensing scheme covering single-household privately rented properties - houses or flats let to individual families, couples and single people - in a group of central Woolwich and Plumstead wards. The council's current, live 'check if you need a licence' tool lists exactly five wards, with no mention of Charlton Village or Woolwich Dockyard — those names came from noise in earlier research, not from a council page. The official London Gazette statutory notice states verbatim: 'is made on 31st March 2022 and shall come into force on 1 October 2022... shall cease to have effect on 1 October 2027.'Coverage: Woolwich Riverside (referred to as Woolwich Arsenal in the council's 2022 announcement), Woolwich Common, Shooters Hill, Plumstead Common, Plumstead Glyndon — per the council's current live licence-checker tool.Designated: Made 31 March 2022; in force from 1 October 2022; ceases to have effect 1 October 2027 — per the London Gazette statutory notice.
- Additional HMO licensing
- In operation. The Royal Borough of Greenwich operates a borough-wide additional HMO licensing scheme covering smaller HMOs - properties let to 3 or 4 people from two or more households sharing basic facilities such as a kitchen and bathroom. The council's news release states 'An additional licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) comes into effect across Royal Greenwich from 1 January 2024.' The council's licence-checker page confirms additional HMO licensing applies across the entire borough rather than in designated wards. This scheme followed an earlier borough-wide additional scheme which ran from 2017 and lapsed in September 2023, leaving a short gap. The official London Gazette statutory notice states verbatim: 'This designation is made on 20 September 2023... shall come into force on 1 January 2024... shall cease to have effect on 31 December 2028.'Coverage: Borough-wide.Designated: Made 20 September 2023; in force from 1 January 2024; ceases to have effect 31 December 2028 — per the London Gazette statutory notice.
Greenwich publishes its fees openly, which is unusual and useful: a selective licence is £905.75, and an HMO licence is charged per letting - £527.82 per letting for up to 5 lettings, then £527.82 per letting for the first 5 plus £316.69 for every additional letting. Fees are VAT exempt. Payment is in two instalments: half on application and the balance when the draft licence is issued, and the council does not offer instalment plans. The per-letting HMO fee structure means a large HMO in Greenwich is materially more expensive to license than in boroughs charging a flat fee. Note also that the ward names used for selective licensing do not map cleanly onto current ward names because of boundary changes, so landlords should use the council's Selective Licensing Scheme Lookup rather than a ward name.
Checked against the council’s own pages on 21 July 2026. Licensing schemes are five-year designations that expire and get redesignated on their own timetables — always confirm on GreenwichCouncil’s licensing pages before applying or paying.
What Greenwich is built of — and what that means for repairs
Greenwich holds an unusually wide span of building types for one borough. The west - Greenwich West, Blackheath and Westcombe Park - has Georgian and early-Victorian terraces and villas, much of it in conservation areas and containing a high proportion of listed buildings. Charlton, Plumstead and parts of Woolwich are solid Victorian and Edwardian terraces on steep ground rising from the river. Woolwich and Thamesmead carry large post-war and 1960s-70s estates, including substantial system-built and concrete-panel construction. Along the river, Greenwich Peninsula, Woolwich Arsenal and Kidbrooke have added very large volumes of recent high-density new-build flats and towers, so the borough's stock ranges from Georgian brick to buildings completed in the last few years.
Common repair issues in Greenwich
- Georgian and early-Victorian property in Greenwich West and Blackheath sits largely in conservation areas with many listed buildings, so sash windows, roof coverings, railings and external alterations attract consent requirements and rule out standard modern replacements
- Solid-wall Victorian terraces in Charlton, Plumstead and Woolwich have rising and penetrating damp, failed DPCs and cold solid walls that are difficult to insulate without creating interstitial condensation
- Steep topography rising from the river towards Shooters Hill and Plumstead Common brings retaining-wall, ground-movement and surface-water drainage problems that flatter boroughs do not share
- Post-war and system-built estates in Woolwich and Thamesmead have concrete repair, panel-joint and communal-services issues, plus a high likelihood of asbestos-containing materials in pre-2000 construction
- Recent riverside high-density blocks at Greenwich Peninsula, Woolwich Arsenal and Kidbrooke bring the modern flat problems - external wall system and fire-safety documentation, communal plant and heat networks, MVHR maintenance, and summer overheating in highly glazed units
- Riverside and low-lying land near the Thames carries flood-risk considerations affecting insurance, basements and ground-floor detailing
Areas we cover in Greenwich
- Greenwich
- Woolwich
- Blackheath
- Charlton
- Plumstead
- Eltham
- Thamesmead
- Kidbrooke
Nearby boroughs
London Heroes covers every neighbouring borough the same way — verified trades, day or night.
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Services in Greenwich
Ordered for what’s common in Greenwich’s housing — every service is available to book here, day or night.
Browse all servicesStraight answers for Greenwich
How do I find a verified plumber or electrician in Greenwich?
Describe the job at londonheroes.co.uk/request. Every professional on London Heroes has passed a human-reviewed identity check, holds verified credentials (Gas Safe for gas work, competent-person scheme membership for electrical work, public liability insurance) displayed live on their public Hero Passport, and is monitored daily for credential expiry. London Heroes covers Greenwich around the clock.
How does payment protection work on London Heroes?
You pay when you book, but the money is held securely and only released to the tradesperson when you confirm the work is complete. If something goes wrong before you confirm, raising a dispute freezes the money automatically while a named member of the team investigates — outcomes include partial or full refund. The platform fee is a transparent 10%, paid by the professional.
Are the tradespeople on London Heroes vetted?
Yes — and by a human, not an algorithm. Verification includes photographic ID, a selfie holding the document, business registration for limited companies, and evidence for every declared credential. A lapsed credential shows as expired on the professional's public Passport rather than being hidden, and reviews can only be written by clients of real, paid jobs.
What does it cost to use London Heroes in Greenwich?
Nothing extra: you pay the professional's quoted price and no booking fees on top. The platform's 10% commission is paid by the professional out of the job price. Cancel before work starts and you receive a full refund.
Do landlords need a property licence in Greenwich?
Greenwich operates additional HMO licensing borough-wide until 31 December 2028 and selective licensing until 1 October 2027; the exact coverage of selective licensing is set out on our Greenwich page. Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England regardless. Checked against Greenwich Council’s own pages on 21 July 2026 — confirm on the council’s website before applying, as designations expire and are renewed on their own timetables.
A trade professional in Greenwich?
Founding heroes get a live, public verification passport — identity, credentials and verified reviews on one page — plus payment-protected jobs at a straight 10%.