The following section has important information for landlords and agents. It sets out the criteria landlords/property licence holders need to meet and the standards for licensed properties.

Failure to license properties that need to be licensed is an offence. The council has a range of powers to enforce its property licensing schemes.

There are three criteria that need to be met:

1. properties must comply with the rent it right standards (PDF) and conditions (PDF)
2. licence holders and agents must be a ‘fit and proper’ person. Section 66 of the Housing act 2004, sets out the evidence that the council must have regard to and the Guide to completing an online application form directs you to further information on what this means
3. licence holders or agents are required to be accredited within 12 months of the licence being issued

Licence holders can become accredited with one of the following organisations:

• London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS)
• National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA)
• Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) (can only accredit letting and managing agents )
• Safeagent (can only accredit letting and managing agents)
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) (can only accredit letting and managing agents )
• UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA) (can only accredit letting and managing agents )

Landlords who wish to undertake the Landlord Fundamental Course can do so through the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) website.

Accreditation is different to just being a member of these organisations and involves demonstrating a level of competence; it usually means you need to successfully complete an accreditation training course prior to becoming accredited. Landlords should check their membership status with the organisation if they are unsure.

To maintain accreditation, landlords must complete Continuing Professional Development. This usually means at least 10 hours of training a year.

Landlords who become accredited before applying for a licence are eligible for a £50 discount.

Exemptions from Licensing

Some dwellings and lettings are excluded from licensing requirements, for example:

• where the tenancies or licences are granted by registered social landlords and housing providers, including most housing associations and the Council
• tenancies or licences granted by police, fire brigade or health service body
• university/college accommodation occupied by students and controlled by the university/college
• where the owner or their relatives occupy a property on a long leasehold
• where a family member rents the property from you (evidence will need to be provided, for example, birth certificates or an affidavit)
• long lease tenancies, where a landlord grants a lease for a term of over 21 years to a tenant
• properties leased to a local authority on a private sector lease and used as emergency accommodation.

For full details of all the exemptions that apply, please see the Guide to completing an online application form.

Landlords who are on the cash incentives scheme are not exempt from property licensing and need to apply for a licence prior to the property being occupied.

Guide to Property Licensing

The Guide to completing an online application form provides further details about what documents you need to provide as part of the licensing process and explains what happens once you've submitted an application.

Licence fees

The cost of a licence comprises of an initial fee for processing the licence application which is non-refundable. Successful applications will attract a further fee payable before the grant of a licence, which covers a contribution towards the costs of operating the respective licensing schemes.

Any properties that were licensed when the previous selective licensing scheme ended in August 2023 will be eligible for a £300 discount, providing they apply within three months of the scheme coming into force.

Landlords or agents that are accredited at the time of applying for a licence will be eligible for a £50 discount.

Public Register

The Council has a duty under section 232 of the Housing Act 2004 to maintain a public register of all Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licences and Selective licences, together with any temporary exemption notices served and details of any interim or final management orders made.

The resister will include the name and address of the licence holders and any management agents who appear on the licence. The council will use the name and address on the application form for the register, if landlords or agents want to provide an alternative address, then they should contact the council.

Apply for a property licence

To apply for a property licence, please use the links below and select the relevant licence type. Applicants are advised to log in and save their applications.

The Council will start accepting applications for the new selective licensing scheme from the 5 November.

Apply for a Selective Licence

Apply for an HMO Licence

Apply to renew an HMO Licence

Log in to view saved applications

If you need any help with completing the application form or have any further questions or queries, please either complete a form and a member of our property licensing team will respond directly to you or call the team direct on 020 3045 3456:

Rent it Right enquiries

Variations

Following the granting of the licence, the Council can vary the licence either by agreement with the licence holder or if it considers that there has been a change in circumstances since the licence was granted. The Council must notify all relevant persons and consider any representations it receives. Following the variation of the licence, the decision can be appealed by a relevant person. Details of how to appeal the variation to the residential property tribunal will be provided.

Renewals

The council will write to licence holders shortly before their HMO licence expires to remind them they need to apply for a licence renewal. Landlords can apply to renew their licences by clicking on the links above.

If licence holders fail to apply for their HMO licence before it expires, then the council will treat it as a new licence application, and landlords will not be eligible for the HMO licence renewal discount.

Failure to license a property is a criminal offence and the Council may take prosecution proceedings or impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000. On conviction, the Court may impose an unlimited fine.

If convicted of operating a property without a licence (or the council is satisfied that the offence has been committed even though the landlord has not been prosecuted), the council can reclaim any benefits paid when you were operating without a licence by applying for a Rent Repayment Order. Similarly, tenants (including former tenants) are also allowed to make an application for a Rent Repayment Order where landlords have been convicted of the offence or where a Rent Repayment Order has already been granted to the council on the same property.

Failure to licence a property will also have implications on evicting tenants from the property because under section 75 of the Housing Act 2004, no section 21 notice served under the Housing Act 1988 may be given in relation to a shorthold tenancy for an unlicensed HMO.

If you live in a privately rented property that isn’t being kept in a safe condition and your landlord is not carrying out repairs the Rent it Right team can assist with this. We will inspect your property to assess potential risks to health and safety and where necessary require landlords to make any repairs/improvements.

Examples of problems the team deals with include: fire safety, damp and mould, electrical safety and defective gas boilers.

Your landlord needs to make sure licensed properties comply with the rent it right standards (PDF) and conditions (PDF).

If you think that your property needs a licence or it isn’t in good repair and fails to meet the necessary standards and conditions please get in contact with us so we can investigate this.

The GLA has a rogue landlord checker that you can access.

The council has a range of powers to enforce the two schemes, these are set out in the Housing Standards Enforcement Policy (PDF).

The Council is identifying and visiting unlicensed properties; landlords who fail to licence their properties run the risk of being prosecuted or having a civil penalty notice (CPN) of up to £30,000 imposed.

The GLA has launched the rogue landlord and agent checker database to name and shame unscrupulous private landlords and letting agents who have been prosecuted or fined for housing offences such as allowing homes to fall into a bad or dangerous condition. Any prosecutions or CPNs made by Bexley Council will be added to the GLA rogue landlord checker.