EICR, EPC and Gas Safety Certificate Requirements for Haringey Landlords

Why Safety Certificates Matter for Your Haringey Licence

Haringey's Metastreet licensing portal requires applicants to upload mandatory documents as part of the application. If you start the form and then realise your EICR expired two months ago, you'll need to book an electrician, wait for the visit, get the report, and risk a portal timeout while you wait.

Here's what you actually need, what standard each certificate must meet, and where the common rejections happen.

Gas Safety Certificate

Every gas-supplied rental property in Haringey needs a valid Gas Safety Certificate — selective, additional and mandatory HMO licences all require one. The certificate must be issued by a Gas Safe registered engineer and renewed annually.

What trips landlords up: the certificate must be current at the date you submit your application, not just current at the start of the tenancy. If your annual inspection falls due next month and you're applying now, the portal will accept the existing certificate. But if it lapsed last week, the portal upload will flag it.

The Gas Safe register lets you verify an engineer's registration number online before booking. Ask for the CP12 certificate (the formal landlord gas safety record) rather than a generic service report — the portal needs the CP12.

Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require private landlords to keep electrical installations safe and have them inspected by a qualified person at least every five years. Haringey's licensing conditions follow the national standard — there's no local variation here.

The EICR must be carried out by a qualified person competent to inspect and test the installation. Registration with a competent person scheme such as NICEIC, NAPIT or ELECSA can help you check a provider's competence. The report grades each circuit:

• C1 (Danger present) — urgent remedial action required
• C2 (Potentially dangerous) — urgent remedial action needed
• C3 (Improvement recommended) — advisory, doesn't fail the report
• FI (Further investigation) — requires follow-up before a pass

A satisfactory EICR has no outstanding C1 or C2 codes and no unresolved FI observations. If your report identifies remedial or further investigative work, complete it within 28 days, or sooner if the report sets a shorter period. Within 28 days after completion, obtain written confirmation from the qualified person and provide it with the original report to the tenant and local council. That confirmation may be a satisfactory EICR or other appropriate electrical certification.

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)

The national minimum for private rentals is Band E unless a valid exemption applies, and Haringey checks this at application. Upload a valid EPC at Band E or above, or provide evidence of the applicable exemption.

There's a direct financial incentive to go higher: properties with an EPC at Band C or above qualify for a £51.90 discount off the Part B licence fee (2026/27 rates). On a selective licence costing £705.84 total, that discount is meaningful — and it stacks with the £51.90 landlord accreditation discount, giving a combined saving of £103.80.

EPCs last 10 years from the date of issue. If yours is approaching expiry, check whether energy improvements since the last assessment might push the rating up — the reassessment itself typically costs £60–£100 and pays for itself through the licence fee discount if you reach Band C.

Floor Plans for HMO Licences

Floor plans aren't required for selective licence applications, but they are mandatory for both additional and mandatory HMO licences in Haringey.

The plan must be dimensioned — room sizes shown in square metres — with fire escape routes and door positions marked. Critically, any part of a room where the ceiling height is below 1.5 metres (common in loft conversions) is excluded from the usable floor area calculation entirely. An attic bedroom that measures 14 m² wall-to-wall but has 3 m² under eaves below 1.5 m counts as only 11 m² for licensing purposes.

Haringey's minimum room sizes for HMOs:

If your floor plan shows a bedroom below these thresholds, the council will impose an occupancy condition limiting the room's use — or refuse the licence outright if the property can't meet minimum standards.

Fire Risk Assessment (HMOs Only)

Additional and mandatory HMO licence applications require a written Fire Risk Assessment compliant with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Selective licence applications don't require a formal FRA, though smoke and CO alarm compliance is checked for all licence types.

For HMOs, the fire detection system must meet BS 5839-6 standards — typically Grade D1 LD2 coverage across common escape routes and risk rooms. Fire doors on rooms opening onto protected escape routes need intumescent seals and overhead self-closers to FD30S standard.

A common rejection: landlords upload a fire risk assessment completed by someone without relevant competence. While the law doesn't mandate a specific qualification, Haringey's licensing officers scrutinise the assessor's credentials. Using a qualified fire risk assessor (TFRAR-registered or equivalent) avoids queries that delay your application.

Smoke and CO Alarms (All Licence Types)

Every storey used as living accommodation needs a working smoke alarm. Every room with a fuel-burning appliance needs a carbon monoxide alarm. This applies to selective, additional and mandatory HMO licences.

The portal requires confirmation rather than a separate certificate, and licensing officers may verify alarm provision during property inspections.

Getting Your Certificates in Order

If you're applying for a Haringey property licence, the sequence matters. Book the gas safety inspection and EICR first — these take the longest to schedule and have the highest failure rate. Get the EPC next (and check whether improvements could reach Band C for the fee discount). Commission the floor plan and FRA last, since these don't expire the way annual and five-yearly certificates do.

Our Haringey landlord licensing guide walks through the full application process — including the Metastreet portal workflow, fee calculations, and what happens after you submit — so you can line up every document before you touch the portal.

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