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Property Licensing Scheme

Does your property require a licence? 

To find out if a property needs to be licensed, please answer the questions.

  • Is your property occupied by a single person/family, or two tenants?

 

For definition of a household (one family) or persons not forming a single household, please check Housing Act 2004 and The Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Other Houses (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) Regulations 2006.

What are the aims of property licensing? 

Licensing of private rented accommodation aims to ensure that:

  • the landlord is accredited and/or trained
  • there are plans in place to deal with anti-social behaviour
  • the property meets minimum standards to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the occupants are safeguarded
  • the landlord is a ‘fit and proper person’ or employs agents who are
  • management arrangements are in place to report and carry out repairs
  • the accommodation has enough space and facilities for the number of occupiers
  • good landlords are not disadvantaged financially by those who operate below the standards required.

How do I make an application for a licence?

Visit the license page you need to make an application. Applications are online. We recommend you use are either lE11 and above or Firefox. 

You will be able to save the application and go back to it later but you are recommended to have all the documents ready.

Pending applications are only kept on the system for 90 days from the initial start date, after this time the software automatically deletes the information.

Notice to applicants

Due to current processing volumes, licence applications are currently taking up to 12 months to complete. We are working hard to process all applications as quickly as possible and aim to complete them within this timeframe. Thank you for your patience and understanding. 

To help avoid delays, please ensure that all information and documents submitted with your application are accurate and up to date, as this will help speed up the process.

We appreciate your patience and understanding.

How much does a licence cost?

Visit the license fees and charges page. The current fees are for a five year licence.

How do you use this information?

Read the Environmental Health and Trading Standards privacy notice for how we use your data.

You should note that it is a legal requirement for us to keep a public register of all licences issue. This will include the licence holders name and address given on the application form.

Will my details be available to the public?

The Housing Act 2004 requires the council to hold a register of licensed properties in the borough.

Overseas landlords

The Council expects all licence holders to have UK-based contact details. Overseas landlords must demonstrate a UK-based responsible person with authority to act and funds for urgent repairs. See the overseas landlords FAQs.

The council will consider such a request if you can demonstrate that your duties as a licence holder are adequately covered by a responsible person and that they have the authority and funds to carry out urgent repairs if needed.