Apply for an HMO licence

Documents and information you will need

Before you start your application, you will need to have the following information and documents ready:

Full address of the HMO
If you are applying for a mandatory or additional licence
Names, addresses, dates of birth and contact details of persons or organisations with an interest in the property, such as freeholders, leaseholders, managing agents, mortgage provider or parties with charges against the property
Checked if the proposed licence holder, proposed manager and all the people to be involved in the management of the property are fit and proper persons to hold a licence or manage an HMO
Gas Safety Certificate if gas is in the property, dated within 12 months
Electrical Installation Condition Report, dated within 5 years
Fire Alarm Test Certificate
Emergency Lighting Test Certificate
Portable Appliance Test (PAT) Certificate
Energy Performance Certificate
Accreditation Scheme or National Landlord Association members valid certificate, only required if you are a member
A floorplan
Property facilities, including information on bathrooms, WCs and kitchens/cooking facilities
Evidence the property has planning permission or benefits from existing planning use
Information about the HMO’s structure, fire precautions and management arrangements
Payment card details

For more information see our HMO application checklist:

Property licensing checklist - New applications (ODT, 60 KB)

Notifying relevant parties that you intend to apply for a HMO Licence

You legally must inform all the interested parties (where applicable) about your intention to apply for a licence, and you will be required to make a declaration with your application that you have informed them. See the Notice of Intention to apply for an HMO licence:

Notice of Intention to Apply for HMO Licence

HMO Licence Holder's 'fit and proper' status

To obtain a licence, the proposed licence holder, the proposed manager and all the people proposed to be involved in the management of the property (if they are different people) must demonstrate they are a fit and proper person. This involves the applicant making a declaration to confirm their status regarding criminal offences. In determining whether a proposed licence holder and manager (if different) is a ‘fit and proper’ person, the council must consider any evidence they have:

committed any offence involving fraud or other dishonesty, violence, drugs and certain sexual offences.
practiced unlawful discrimination on the grounds of sex, colour, race, ethnic or national origins or disability in connection with any business
contravened any provision of law relating to housing, landlord and tenant law

If we discover someone has broken the law then we will review whether they are a suitable person to hold an HMO licence. If we conclude they are not, they must nominate someone independent to hold licences on their behalf, for a specified period of time. More information can be found in the Fit and Proper Persons Policy.

Paying for your licence

You will need to pay the HMO licence fee in two stages:

stage 1 fee with the application
stage 2 fee immediately after completion of the initial inspection.