Rented property licensing

Apply for a property licence

Types of licensing application

New application

You should make a new application if:

You wish to apply for a Selective Licence under the new licensing designation scheme which commences on 1 June 2023 (you cannot renew your previous Selective licence as these have expired, you must make a new application)

  • You wish to apply for an Additional or Mandatory House in Multiple Occupation Property Licence
  • This is the first time you have applied for a property licence in Newham
  • You want to change the licence holder
  • You have been refused a licence
  • Your licence has been taken away from you

Apply for a Selective Licence

Apply for an Additional Licence

Apply for a mandatory (HMO) licence

Variation

You (the licence holder) should make this type of application if you have a valid Property licence and:

  • We have made a change
  • You have made a change
  • There is a change of address or details of any interested party such as the manager, owner, mortgagor, freeholder, leaseholder
  • There is a change of manager (unless they are also the licence holder)
  • There is a change to the maximum number of people living in a property and/or number of households.

Revocation

You (the licence holder) should make this type of application when:

  • There is a new proposed licence
  • The property has been sold
  • The property no longer needs to be licensed.
  • You currently cannot make a variation or revocation online. To tell us about a change by emailing propertylicensing@newham.gov.uk. Make sure you include the full address of the property.
  • You must have a licence for every home you rent out privately in Newham. If you do not, you could face a financial penalty notice of up to £30,000 or an unlimited fine from the court.

Before you apply

Check which type of licence you should apply for.  There are several types of property licence: mandatory, selective and additional.

You must also make sure you know which type of application you should make.

If your property does not have a licence and you are taking steps which mean it will not need a licence, you can apply for a temporary exemption Temporary licence exemption – Rented property licensing – Newham Council

Who can apply

Anyone can apply for a property licence; however, they must be the most appropriate person to do so. Normally this will be the owner or a manager employed by the owner. The proposed licence holder needs to be the most appropriate person, namely the landlord, person in receipt of rent or in control of the property. If it is a limited company, please give the full company name and address of a UK registered office and listed director who will be the proposed licence holder.
At the very least, the council expects the licence holder to have the power to:

  • let and terminate the tenancies;
  • access all parts of the premises to the same extent as the owner.
  • You must apply for one licence per property. You cannot transfer a licence to another person.
  • Please visit our FAQs page for common questions and answers relating to Licence Holders queries.

When you apply

You will need to have various information relating to the property to hand before completing the application form including the following:

Section 1

Property details

Current property use and occupation numbers

Section 2

Property interested party information 

Details of all interested parties such as managing agents, mortgage companies, leaseholders, proposed licence holders and any other relevant parties

Section 3

Property management & Fit and proper declaration

Details of property management arrangements, landlord accreditation confirmation is required if applicable along with details of any unspent convictions

Section 4

Health & safety  

Details of:

Fire safety installations (certification required if applicable)

Health and safety arrangements

Gas Safety (certification required if applicable)

Electrical Installation (certification required if applicable)

Energy Performance Rating (certification required)

Section 5

Property Information:

 

 

 

 

a) Property dimensions 

Sizes and locations of all rooms within the property including bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms and dining rooms in square metres

 

 

b) Bathroom facilities

Location and number of sinks, toilets and baths/showers

 

 

c) Kitchen facilities

Location and number of hobs, ovens, fridge/freezers and sinks

 

 

d) Fire alarms

Location of fire alarms

For further details on what happens once you have made a successful application please visit our What happens next – Rented property licensing – Newham Council section.

For further information on the types of Property licence, please visit Selective Licensing – Rented property licensing – Newham Council or Additional and Mandatory HMO Licensing – Rented property licensing – Newham Council