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Private rented property licensing

Applying for a licence

You’ll find the link to our licensing application portal below but before you apply you will need a few details to hand:

  • what type of licence will your property need
  • room sizes and property facilities
  • details about the property structure and safety equipment
  • name and addresses of persons and organisations with an interest in the property
  • payment card details
  • licence holder’s date of birth

Documents you will need

  • floor plans - plans of the property can be a single line drawing that shows the basic layout of each floor with room sizes, in square metres, for each room
  • landlord accreditation certificate - if you're a member of an accreditation scheme
  • electrical safety certificate
  • gas safety certificate - if applicable
  • fire risk assessment - if your property is an HMO
  • fire alarm certificate
  • tenancy agreements
  • Article 4 Planning consent evidence - where applicable

Accreditation

Accreditation schemes are designed to build and recognise good practices in the private rented sector. Give your tenants the confidence to know that you are a responsible landlord by becoming a member of an accreditation scheme.

Schemes should include an initial training session and a minimum amount of continuous professional development to remain a member.

Examples of schemes available

Our licensing portal is hosted by Metastreet. A link to the portal can be found at the bottom of this page. You will need to set up an account with a valid email address.

Once you have set up or logged into your account, you'll be taken to your property dashboard where you can start a new application, edit or complete an existing application and make online payments.

Our secure online payment system allows you to pay your licensing fee. Debit and credit card details are encrypted and are not retained in the system. The server on which they're held has been certified for security.

If you can't make an online payment, complete the form and contact us to arrange an alternative payment option, you may be charged £55 on top of your licensing fee for the administration costs in processing your payment.

If you can't apply online, email resi@southwark.gov.uk for a paper copy. You may be charged a £218 administration fee (this includes the £55 fee for an alternative way to pay).

Completing the form

Information and advice are available on the application portal on licensing generally and specifically to help you complete the form accurately.

If Southwark Council owns the freehold for your licensable property, add the following details on the application form:

First Names: My Southwark Home Owners Agency
Surname: Housing Conveyancing/Sales & Acquisitions
Organisation Name: London Borough of Southwark
Address: London Borough of Southwark, 160 Tooley Street, London SE1 2QH
Phone Number: 0000 0000000
Email Address: hsg.conveyancing@southwark.gov.uk

FAQ – finding your property address
When you enter the postcode in the address search please make sure you scroll through the complete address list to check if your address is there before reporting a missing address on the system. 
Addresses don’t always come up in order especially addresses for flats.
Some flats referred to as Flat A or Flat B may be described differently on the address search. For example, Flat A may be officially listed as Ground Floor Flat, 101 Example Street.

After you've applied and paid for your licence

We may contact you to arrange an appointment to inspect the property. The inspection will verify the contents of your application form and carry out a risk assessment of the conditions at your property. The risk assessment is used to make a quick assessment of the condition of your property and to prioritise any necessary further inspections.

We will then send you and all interested parties either; a draft licence or a notice of refusal to grant a licence. These will include a reference and a 6-digit code to use on our licensing portal if you wish to make a representation.

What is a representation?

Once we have sent you the draft licence or refusals, there will be a 14-day period for you and any interested parties to make ‘representations’ to us on the contents of the licence or the refusal. A representation is how you can formally tell us if you don’t agree with our decision.

Representations are considered by a panel of 2 managers and our legal service and we aim to consider and make a decision within eight weeks of receiving them. We may contact you to discuss your representation. If we don't agree with the representation, we will issue a full licence with the same conditions stated in the draft. If we agree with any of the representations, we will issue a new draft licence with the altered conditions. There will then be another 14-day representation period of all interested parties.

If we do not receive any representations we will let you know whether the licence has been granted or refused. Where a licence has been granted, you will receive the full licence.

If you don't agree with the content of the full licence, or with our final decision to refuse a licence, following the outcome of the representation, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), which is an independent body. Appeals must be made within 28 days of the decision being appealed against, and you will generally need to pay a fee.

For further details on how to appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal, visit the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) website or call their enquiry line on 020 7446 7700.

After a full licence has been issued, we will visit the property to ensure that all conditions on the licence have and are being complied with.

Property licensing portal

Page last updated: 01 October 2024

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