How to Handle Landlord Licensing Without an Agent in Barking and Dagenham

You can complete your Barking and Dagenham landlord licence application yourself — the MetaStreet portal is designed for individual landlords, not just agents, and the process takes an afternoon once you have your documents ready. The reason most landlords struggle is not the portal itself but the preparation: working out which of three schemes applies, assembling the right certificates in the right format, and avoiding the fee discount deadlines. A structured approach fixes that.

Here is how to do it, from classification to submission, without paying an agent.

Step 1: Work Out Which Licence You Need

Barking and Dagenham operates three licensing schemes simultaneously. The licence you need depends entirely on who lives in the property:

• One household or two unrelated sharers: selective licence (£950 standard fee)
• Three or four people from two or more households who share basic amenities: additional HMO licence (£1,400)
• Five or more people from two or more households who share or lack basic amenities: mandatory HMO licence (from £1,500, scaling with room count)

The common mistake is classifying a property based on the number of people rather than the number of households. A couple plus one flatmate who shares basic amenities is three people but only two households — that is an additional HMO, not a mandatory HMO. Two friends sharing is two households but only two people — that is a selective licence.

Section 257 converted blocks (buildings split into flats where the conversion did not meet Building Regulations and fewer than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied) are exempt from HMO licensing at building level. Each privately rented flat still needs the licence that applies to its occupancy; a selective licence applies to a single household or two sharers, while a flat occupied as an HMO may need an HMO licence.

The Landlord Licensing in Barking and Dagenham guide includes a decision flowchart that resolves these edge cases in four questions.

Step 2: Assemble Your Documents Before Opening the Portal

The single biggest cause of application delays is opening the portal before having the full document set. LBBD's MetaStreet system expects you to upload the required documents during the online application, so prepare them in sequence before you start.

What you need:

• Gas Safety Certificate — current, from a Gas Safe registered engineer
• Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) — no outstanding C1 or C2 codes, dated within the last five years
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) — rated A to E, or a valid exemption registered on the PRS Exemptions Register
• Floor plans — dimensioned in square metres, showing room areas (critical for HMO applications: at least 8.5m² for a single bedroom with a separate kitchen, and 10.22m² for a double bedroom; rooms with internal kitchens have higher minimums)
• Fire safety evidence — smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, fire doors and escape routes (HMOs have stricter requirements than single-household lets)
• Written tenancy agreement — a sample or active statement of tenancy terms provided to occupiers
• Fit-and-proper person declarations — disclosure of any relevant criminal convictions, housing law breaches or discrimination findings

If any certificate is missing or expired, get it sorted before you start the application. The Part A fee (£650 for selective, £1,000 for additional/mandatory HMO) is generally non-refundable once processing begins — you do not want to pay it and then stall because the EICR has an outstanding C2 code.

Step 3: Check the Discount Deadlines

LBBD offers two discounts on the Part B fee:

• Silver (£200 off): the property passes a compliance inspection
• Gold (£250 off): you hold accreditation with a recognized body such as LLAS or NRLA AND the property passes inspection

The Gold discount requires verified accreditation and a passed compliance inspection. LLAS costs £89.90. The £250 saving more than covers the accreditation fee for a single application.

There is also a penalty for delay: if the property has been let unlicensed for more than three months after the scheme took effect (6 April 2025 for selective, 9 January 2025 for additional HMO) or a qualifying tenancy began, LBBD can restrict the licence to one year and remove all discounts. A selective licence that could cost £700 with the Gold discount becomes £950 for a single year.

Step 4: Register, Submit and Pay Part A

Log into the MetaStreet portal, create an account (or log in to an existing one), enter the property address, select the correct scheme, fill in the occupancy and management details, upload the documents, complete the fit-and-proper declarations, and pay Part A.

The portal sends an acknowledgement. A valid application received by the council is a statutory defence against prosecution for operating without a licence — keep the acknowledgement as proof of receipt.

Step 5: Prepare for the Inspection and Part B

After the application is accepted, LBBD schedules an inspection. The council officer checks the property against the licence conditions: safety certificates in place, no outstanding hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, room sizes compliant (for HMOs), fire safety measures installed.

If the property passes, you receive the Part B invoice. Pay it, and the licence is issued — valid for five years (unless the three-month restriction applies).

Step 6: Track Conditions for Five Years

The licence comes with conditions: annual gas safety renewals, EICR cycles, smoke and CO alarm testing, periodic property inspections (every six months for selective, every three months for HMOs), waste management, anti-social behaviour logging, and tenancy deposit compliance. These are not optional — breaching conditions is a separate offence carrying its own penalties.

This is where most agents stop and most self-managing landlords lose track. The guide includes a five-year compliance tracker that schedules every renewal date and inspection window.

What This Costs Compared to an Agent

The agent submits the same form to the same portal. The council fee is identical. The licence holder — you — carries the same legal liability either way. The difference is the agent's markup and whether you understand what you signed.

Who This Is For

• Self-managing landlords with one or two properties in Barking and Dagenham who want to keep costs down
• Landlords comfortable spending an afternoon on paperwork who want a structured reference rather than piecing together council web pages
• Landlords whose agents manage the tenancy but who handle licensing themselves — because the licence holder, not the agent, makes the statutory declarations

Who This Is NOT For

• Landlords facing active enforcement (a civil penalty notice or Rent Repayment Order application) — that needs a housing solicitor
• Portfolio landlords managing many properties across boroughs — an agent's fee saves real time at scale
• Landlords who want someone else to handle the entire compliance chain including certificates, inspections and condition monitoring

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does the application take to process?

LBBD aims to inspect a property within six months of receiving a valid application. That is an inspection target, not a decision deadline; processing times can vary. A valid application received by the council provides a statutory defence against prosecution for operating without a licence.

What if LBBD rejects my application?

Rejections can follow incomplete documentation or failed fit-and-proper checks. If documentation is incomplete, LBBD may request the missing items and give you two months to respond; failure to respond can lead to rejection and forfeiture of the Part A fee. A licensing decision can be appealed to the First-tier Tribunal within 28 days of service of the final decision notice.

Can I apply if I do not live in the UK?

Yes, but non-UK resident landlords must appoint a UK-based managing agent who agrees to accept joint compliance liability. The agent becomes the proposed manager on the application. The guide covers the additional requirements for overseas landlords.

Do I need planning permission as well as a licence?

If you are converting a single-family home (Use Class C3) into a small HMO (Use Class C4, 3–6 occupants), you need express planning permission under LBBD's borough-wide Article 4 Direction (in effect since February 2022). A property licence does not substitute for planning approval. Operating an HMO without planning permission is a separate offence.

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