Apply for a licence
Before you apply for a HMO licence check the public register to see if one already exists.
We recommend that applications to renew an existing HMO licence should be submitted two months before the existing licence expires.
What goes with the application?
With your application you must also provide:
- the appropriate licence fee
- a floor plan of the property indicating room sizes, location of the bathroom, toilet and kitchen facilities plus the position of smoke alarms, emergency lighting units and fire doors
- a copy of the current gas safety certificate, (if the property has a gas supply), which must be renewed annually. Any application received without this certificate will be invalid. Failure to provide an appropriate gas safety certificate within 7 days of request may result either in legal proceedings or a refused application. The case may also be referred to the Health and Safety Executive.
Any application received without these items will not be valid.
If available, you should also provide:
- a copy of the fire alarm test certificate
- a copy of the emergency lighting test certificate
- a valid electrical test certificate
- a portable appliance test certificate for any electrical equipment you supply as part of the tenancy.
- a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate, if one is required for the property.
- a declaration that all upholstered furniture supplied complies with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988.
To comply with the regulations, your furniture must:
- Carry a permanent and non-detachable manufacturer’s label
- Have fire resistant filling material
- Pass the ‘match resistance test’ as prescribed
- Pass the ‘cigarette test’ as prescribed.
The following items of furniture are included in the above:
- Armchairs, sofas, sofa beds, futons and other convertible furniture
- Beds, bed bases and headboards, mattresses, divans and pillows
- Nursery furniture
- Garden furniture that could be used indoors
- Loose, stretch and fitted furniture covers, scatter cushions, and seat pads.
If you do not have copies of these certificates, you will be asked to supply one as a condition of the licence.
