How to Apply for an HMO Licence in Barnet

Barnet Council runs HMO licence applications through a digital portal and stopped accepting paper applications after 31 October 2024. Missing or incomplete elements may lead to rejection on officer review. If a licensable application is withdrawn before inspection after processing work is complete, the council retains £365 of Fee 1. Getting the sequence right before you log in saves time and money.

What the Portal Expects From You

Before you create an account on Barnet's Property Licensing Portal, gather everything the upload screens will ask for:

• Gas Safety Certificate dated within the last 12 months
• EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) dated within the last 5 years, marked "Satisfactory"
• EPC valid for 10 years, with a minimum E rating or a valid registered MEES exemption
• Fire Alarm Test Certificate (BS 5839 Part 6) from the last 12 months
• Emergency Lighting Certificate (BS 5266) if the property has emergency lighting fitted
• PAT Certificate for portable appliances, dated within 12 months
• Scaled floor plan with exact room measurements in square metres
• Fit and Proper Person declaration if required where multiple people are bound by the licence; signed within three months of submission

Barnet says that missing or incomplete required elements are likely to make an application incomplete on officer review and lead to rejection. The portal allows a part-completed application to be saved and continued, but saving it does not make an incomplete submission valid.

The Four Stages of a Barnet HMO Application

The process runs in a fixed sequence:

1. Pre-application: collate certificates, draw your floor plan, and serve a Notice of Intention to Apply on all interested parties (freeholders, mortgage lenders, joint owners, managing agents). You must confirm in the portal that you have served this notice.

2. Portal submission: register, upload documents, complete the Fit and Proper Person disclosure, and pay the Stage 1 fee (£1,061 for a new application, £866 for a renewal). If you hold LLAS, NRLA or another approved accreditation, claim the 10% discount at this point — it cannot be applied later.

3. Inspection and assessment: Barnet targets a 12-week processing window from the date your application is accepted as valid. An Environmental Health Officer inspects the property against HHSRS hazards and Barnet's local HMO standards.

4. Determination: pay the Stage 2 fee (£811 for a five-year licence, £162 for a one-year licence) after inspection. The council issues a Draft Licence with a 14-day representation window, then the Final Licence.

How Long Does It Take?

Barnet aims to issue a licence within 12 weeks of receiving a valid application. The target runs from the valid application, not the first attempt to submit; missing items can delay the start of processing.

Properties with outstanding planning issues (such as operating as a C4 HMO without permission under Barnet's Article 4 Direction) may receive a shortened one-year licence rather than the standard five years.

What About Limited Companies?

If the property is owned by a limited company, the company itself must be named as the Licence Holder — an individual employee cannot hold the licence in their personal name. You will need the company registration number, registered office address, trading address, and contact details for a responsible director.

Overseas landlords who lack a UK residential address must appoint a UK-based managing agent as the licence holder or joint applicant.

One Thing to Do Before You Start

Run through a document audit checklist before you touch the portal. Confirm every certificate is in date, your floor plan includes room measurements, and you know which fee tier applies. The Barnet Landlord Licensing Guide walks through the entire pre-submission audit, the portal screens, and the post-inspection steps, so nothing gets missed on upload day.

See more England guides →