Documents Needed for a Greenwich Landlord Licence Application

Why Documents Matter More Than Usual

Greenwich charges a non-refundable Stage 1 fee when you submit a licence application. If the application is rejected because a document is missing, expired or in the wrong format, you lose that fee — £452.88 for selective licences, or £263.91 per letting unit for HMOs — and have to start again with a new payment.

Getting your documents right before touching the portal is not optional admin. It is the difference between paying once and paying twice.

The Full Document List

1. Gas Safety Certificate

A valid certificate from a Gas Safe registered engineer, issued within the previous 12 months. The certificate must cover every gas appliance and flue in the property, show the engineer's Gas Safe registration number, and have a clear pass status.

If the property has no gas supply, you still need to declare this on the portal. A disconnection certificate from the gas network operator strengthens the declaration.

2. Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)

An EICR no more than five years old, carried out by a qualified electrician. The report must show a satisfactory overall assessment. Any C1 (danger present), C2 (potentially dangerous) or FI (further investigation required) codes must be remediated and a clean report obtained before the council will process the application.

A clean EICR with only C3 (improvement recommended) codes is acceptable.

3. Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)

A valid EPC rated E or above, no more than 10 years old. Properties rated F or G cannot be let unless the landlord has registered a valid exemption on the national PRS Exemptions Register.

4. Scaled Floor Plans

This is where most applications stall. The council requires floor plans showing:

• Room dimensions in square metres (not feet)
• Ceiling heights
• Location of doors and windows
• Fire escape routes
• Fixed amenities (sinks, cookers, WCs, showers)

Plans do not need to be professionally drawn, but they must be accurate and to scale. If room measurements are missing or the plan is a rough sketch without dimensions, the council will request corrections and the application sits in limbo.

For HMOs, room sizes are checked against statutory minimums: 6.51 m² for a single occupant aged 10 or over, 10.22 m² for two occupants, and 4.64 m² for a child under 10. Any floor area where the ceiling height is below 1.5 metres does not count.

5. Fire Risk Assessment (HMOs)

All HMO licence applications require a fire risk assessment covering common parts — hallways, stairways, landings and shared kitchens. The assessment should follow the PAS 79 framework and be carried out by a competent person.

The assessment must confirm that interlinked smoke alarms are fitted on every storey and carbon monoxide alarms are in any room with a fuel-burning appliance. Fire doors, emergency lighting and clear escape routes are checked for HMOs with three or more storeys.

Selective licence applications for single-household lets do not require a full PAS 79 assessment, but smoke and carbon monoxide alarm declarations are still mandatory.

6. Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Declaration

A written declaration or test certificate confirming:

• Working smoke alarms on every storey of the property
• Carbon monoxide alarms in any room with a solid fuel or gas burning appliance
• Alarms are interlinked (required for licensed HMOs)

7. Fit-and-Proper Person Declaration

The proposed licence holder and any named managing agent must complete a declaration covering unspent criminal convictions, housing enforcement history, banning orders under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, and discrimination findings. This is completed on the portal, not uploaded as a separate document.

Getting Everything Together

Commissioning all certificates at once is the most efficient approach. An EICR and gas safety check can often be booked through the same contractor, and many EPC assessors offer combined visits.

Allow at least two weeks for remediation if the EICR comes back unsatisfactory — electricians are often booked out, and you cannot submit the application until the clean report is ready.

Our Greenwich landlord licensing guide includes a printable document assembly checklist that maps every required upload to the portal's exact field names, so nothing falls through the gaps.

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