How to Apply for a Croydon Landlord Licence: Step-by-Step Portal Guide

Before You Start

Gather all your compliance documents before opening the portal. Croydon's Metastreet system has session timeouts, and starting without everything ready is a common cause of incomplete applications. You will need:

• Land Registry title (issued within the last 3 months)
• Gas safety certificate (CP12, valid annual inspection)
• Electrical Installation Condition Report (satisfactory, within 5 years)
• Energy Performance Certificate (minimum Band E)
• Dimensioned floor plans showing room sizes in m², ceiling heights, and facility locations
• Fire risk assessment (mandatory for HMO applications, may be requested for selective)
• A sample tenancy agreement

You also need the names, addresses, and notification dates for all "interested parties" — freeholders, joint owners, mortgage lenders, and managing agents — because you must certify that you have served them written notice of the application before submitting.

Step 1: Create a Portal Account

Croydon processes all licence applications digitally through its Metastreet-powered licensing platform. Create an individual account with your email address. If you are licensing as a company, you will need to provide registered company details that match Land Registry and tenancy records.

The same portal handles selective, additional HMO, and mandatory HMO applications — the system routes you based on the licence type you select.

Step 2: Start the Application

Select the correct licence type (selective, additional HMO, or mandatory HMO) and enter the property address. The application form asks for:

• Proposed licence holder: typically the freeholder or primary leaseholder receiving the rent. Must reside in England or Wales, or provide a UK service address for legal notices.
• Proposed manager: the person responsible for day-to-day management.
• Fit-and-proper-person declarations: statutory self-declarations about unspent convictions related to fraud, violence, drug offences, housing law breaches, and unlawful discrimination.
• Property details: occupancy numbers, household relationships, room usages.

Upload all compliance documents as clear PDFs or JPEGs when prompted.

Step 3: Serve Interested Party Notices

Before final submission, you must certify that you have served written notice on all interested parties — mortgage lenders, freeholders, joint owners, and managing agents — as required under Schedule 2 of SI 2006/373. The portal asks you to enter who was notified, their addresses, and when.

This is not optional: serve the required written notices before submission. The statutory "duly made" application test is based on the completed form, required documents and floor plans, and payment of the Part A fee.

Step 4: Pay the Part A Fee

Submit the application and pay the Part A fee by card through the portal. This covers processing, validation, and initial property verification:

• Selective: £480
• Additional HMO: £750
• Mandatory HMO: £177 per habitable room

Part A is non-refundable.

Step 5: Application Processing

The council reviews your submission for completeness. If everything is in order, they confirm the application as "duly made." This status matters — under Sections 72(4) and 95(3) of the Housing Act 2004, a duly made application protects you against prosecution or civil penalties for unlicensed letting while it is pending.

An automated payment receipt alone does not constitute this protection if the application is incomplete or missing required documents.

Step 6: Inspection and Draft Licence

Council officers may conduct a property inspection, checking room dimensions, amenity ratios, and HHSRS hazards. After the review, the council issues either a "Notice of Intention to Grant a Licence" (draft licence) or a "Notice of Intention to Refuse."

The draft licence sets out proposed conditions, maximum occupancy limits, and household counts. You have a 14-day statutory window to submit written objections or corrections. Use this period to check that room dimensions, occupancy caps, and conditions are accurate.

Step 7: Pay the Part B Fee and Receive the Licence

After the representation period and a decision to grant, the council requests the Part B fee. After payment clears, the final licence is issued and the property appears on the public register.

For HMOs, you must display the licence summary and manager contact details in the property's common areas.

Processing Time

Croydon does not publish a guaranteed processing timeline. With the launch of two new schemes in September 2026, initial processing volumes are high. Plan for several weeks between submission and draft licence, and allow additional time for the inspection and representation stages.

For a complete pre-application checklist and document preparation guide, see our Croydon Landlord Licensing Guide.

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