Wandsworth
Verified local trades for Wandsworth
London Heroes covers Wandsworth 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 Wandsworth
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England. Wandsworth may also operate additional or selective licensing.
- Selective licensing
- In operation. Two separate selective licensing designations, both confirmed by the council's own public notices. They apply to any privately rented house let or occupied under a tenancy or licence in the designated wards, other than properties licensable as mandatory or additional HMOs and lettings by registered social landlords. Published fee: £885 per property (Part A £529 / Part B £356). Discounts include an early-bird 30% off Part A (about £159) — for Designation 2 properties this ran from 1 April 2026 and closes 1 October 2026; the Designation 1 and additional-licensing early-bird window closed on 31 December 2025. Further discounts: £104 off Part A for multi-dwelling, £104 off Part B for EPC B+, 40% off Part B (about £142) for Gold Standard, and £104 off Part B for accredited landlords.Coverage: Designation 1: Furzedown, South Balham, Tooting Bec and Tooting Broadway. Designation 2: East Putney, Northcote and West Putney. Seven wards in total — the rest of the borough has no selective licensing.Designated: Designation 1 — approved by Cabinet 3 February 2025, made 22 July 2024, in force 1 July 2025, ceases to have effect 30 June 2030. Designation 2 — approved by Cabinet and made 1 December 2025, in force 1 April 2026, ceases to have effect 31 March 2031. Both unless revoked earlier.
- Additional HMO licensing
- In operation. Borough-wide additional HMO licensing, confirmed by the council's own public notice, which 'designates the entire area of its district as subject to Additional Licensing'. It applies to all HMOs under section 254 occupied by three or more persons in two or more households that are not already mandatorily licensable — shared houses and flats and bedsits occupied by 3–4 people, and flats in multiple occupation within purpose-built blocks. Published fee: £1,507 per property (Part A £903 / Part B £604), with discounts including £104 off Part A for multi-dwelling applications, £104 off Part B for EPC B or above, £242 off Part B for Gold Standard, and £104 off Part B for accredited landlords.Coverage: Borough-wide — the entire London Borough of Wandsworth.Designated: Approved by Cabinet 3 February 2025; designation made 22 July 2024; came into force 1 July 2025; ceases to have effect 30 June 2030 unless revoked earlier.
Wandsworth is a recent entrant to discretionary licensing: nothing beyond mandatory HMO licensing existed before 1 July 2025, so many long-standing Wandsworth landlords have only just come into scope. Additional licensing is borough-wide, but selective licensing is not — it is confined to seven named wards in two phases, and a landlord in, say, Battersea or Wandsworth Town needs no selective licence for an ordinary single-family let. Note also that Designation 2 did NOT require Secretary of State confirmation (it relies on the December 2024 general approval), whereas Designation 1's notice records that the areas cover 20% or less of the borough's geography and private rented stock. The council states a property licence usually lasts five years, but can be cut to one year where planning permission is needed or was previously refused. One oddity worth flagging: the additional licensing public notice PDF published by Wandsworth gives a Merton contact email and Morden address in its enquiries section — an apparent template error on the council's own document.
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 WandsworthCouncil’s licensing pages before applying or paying.
What Wandsworth is built of — and what that means for repairs
Wandsworth is overwhelmingly a Victorian and Edwardian borough: long runs of two- and three-storey bay-fronted terraces and larger villas across Battersea, Clapham Junction, Balham, Tooting and Earlsfield, a very large proportion of them converted into upper and lower maisonettes or purpose-divided flats. Putney and Southfields add Edwardian and interwar mansion blocks and suburban semis, and there are substantial post-war council estates in Roehampton — including the Alton Estate, one of the largest post-war housing schemes in Europe — and in Battersea. Since the 2010s the Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station corridor has added a dense band of new-build residential towers along the river.
Common repair issues in Wandsworth
- Flat-conversion pathologies in Victorian terraces: shared drainage and stacks, sound transmission between maisonettes, disputed responsibility for roofs and structure between leaseholders
- Solid-wall damp, penetrating damp at parapets and valley gutters, and decayed timber sash windows in the terraced and villa stock
- Basement and lower-ground-floor conversions common in Battersea and Clapham, with associated tanking, groundwater and structural underpinning issues
- Clay-subsoil subsidence and heave risk in south London, often linked to mature street trees and dry summers, showing up as cracking in bay fronts and rear additions
- Post-war estate blocks in Roehampton and Battersea with concrete repair, communal heating and window renewal programmes
- New-build riverside apartments with communal plant, mechanical ventilation, and cladding/building-safety documentation requirements on sale or remortgage
Areas we cover in Wandsworth
- Battersea
- Clapham Junction
- Balham
- Tooting
- Earlsfield
- Putney
- Southfields
- Roehampton
Nearby boroughs
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Services in Wandsworth
Ordered for what’s common in Wandsworth’s housing — every service is available to book here, day or night.
Browse all servicesStraight answers for Wandsworth
How do I find a verified plumber or electrician in Wandsworth?
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 Wandsworth 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 Wandsworth?
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 Wandsworth?
Wandsworth operates additional HMO licensing borough-wide until 30 June 2030 and selective licensing; the exact coverage of selective licensing is set out on our Wandsworth page. Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England regardless. Checked against Wandsworth 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 Wandsworth?
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