Birmingham Fit and Proper Person Test for Landlords

Every property licence application in Birmingham — selective, additional HMO or mandatory HMO — runs through a fit and proper person assessment before the council will grant it. The test applies to the proposed licence holder and to any managing agent named on the application, and the council can refuse a licence outright if either person fails.

What the Council Actually Checks

Birmingham City Council evaluates fitness under Section 66 of the Housing Act 2004 (for HMO licences) and Section 89 (for selective licences). The assessment covers four broad areas:

Criminal record. The council must consider relevant unspent convictions involving fraud, dishonesty, violence, drugs or sexual offences under Schedule 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 as part of the fit and proper test. The council looks at every associated person, not just the proposed licence holder.

Discrimination. Any finding of unlawful discrimination on grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin or disability counts against the application.

Housing law contraventions. Prior breaches of housing legislation, landlord and tenant law or public health regulations in any local authority area — not just Birmingham — are considered. Previous civil penalty notices for housing offences are part of this assessment.

Banning orders and the rogue landlord database. A banning order under Section 16 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 means the person is not fit and proper to be a proposed licence holder. A listing on the national database of rogue landlords is relevant to the assessment but does not automatically require refusal.

How It Works in Practice

The council assesses fitness as part of the licensing application. Follow the portal's current instructions for declarations and supporting information; do not assume that a separate check is required.

You declare on the portal form whether you or any associated person has unspent criminal convictions, received civil penalties, or been subject to enforcement action. Misrepresenting your history does not just risk refusal — it can become the basis for a separate offence.

The assessment applies to every person with a controlling interest. If you own the property but a managing agent is named as the licence holder, both you (as the person having an interest) and the agent (as the proposed holder) are assessed.

What Happens if You Fail

If the council determines that you are not a fit and proper person, it issues a Notice of Intention to Refuse. You then have 14 days to make representations — essentially a written response explaining your position or providing evidence the council may not have considered.

If the refusal stands, the Stage 1 application fee (£375 for a selective licence, proportional for HMO) is not refunded — it covers the cost of processing and assessing the application, regardless of outcome.

A refused applicant can still appeal the decision to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) within 28 days of the refusal notice. The tribunal rehears the case from scratch and can overturn the council's decision.

What You Can Do Before Applying

Check whether any unspent convictions or prior housing enforcement actions exist against you or your agent before submitting. If a previous council issued a civil penalty notice, that will follow you across local authority boundaries.

If your circumstances are borderline — perhaps a historic conviction that is now spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 — the key distinction is spent versus unspent. Spent convictions generally fall outside the assessment, though the council retains discretion where a pattern of behaviour suggests ongoing management risk.

For landlords who know they will face difficulty with the fit and proper test, the practical option is appointing a UK-based managing agent who does pass the test as the proposed licence holder. The agent then holds the licence, though the landlord remains responsible for ensuring the property meets all licence conditions.

Our Birmingham Landlord Licensing Guide walks through the complete application process, including the declarations you need to prepare for the fit and proper assessment and the documents the council requires alongside it.

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