Islington HMO Licence Documents and Floor Plan Requirements

The Full Document List

Islington's licensing portal won't let you submit a valid application without a complete set of safety certificates and property records. Missing a single document risks rejection, forfeiture of the non-refundable Part A fee, and a late-application surcharge that strips you of all discount eligibility.

Here's what you need, assembled offline before you log in:

Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) — maximum 12 months old, covering every gas appliance in the property, issued by a Gas Safe registered engineer. If the property has no gas supply, you'll still need to confirm this in the application.

Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) — maximum 5 years old and showing a Satisfactory outcome. C1 or C2 defects must be rectified.

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) — maximum 10 years old, rated Band E or better. Properties below Band E need a registered exemption or an upgrade before applying. An EPC at Band A, B, or C qualifies you for a £50 Part B discount.

Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) — required for mandatory and additional HMOs where applicable. Review it annually with a competent person. The assessment evaluates structural fire protection, detection systems, escape routes, and management procedures.

Mains fire alarm and lighting certificates — if the HMO has an installed Grade A or BS 5839 fire detection system, annual commissioning and testing certificates from a qualified engineer are required.

Tenancy agreements — full copies of all active tenancy contracts, showing rent amounts, deposit arrangements, and occupancy details.

Floor Plan Specifications

Floor plans are mandatory for all HMO applications (mandatory, additional, and Section 257). Islington expects dimensioned plans showing:

• Exact room measurements in square metres, wall to wall
• Window locations and sizes
• Fire escape routes
• The layout of every floor

The critical rule for measuring rooms: ceiling heights below 1.5 metres are excluded from the usable floor area. An attic bedroom with sloping ceilings might measure 12 m² wall to wall but only 9 m² of usable space once the low areas are subtracted. That matters because falling below minimum room sizes makes the room unlettable.

Submit a current, dimensioned plan with exact room measurements, window locations, and fire exits. The format is not specified here, so check the portal's upload instructions before submitting. Make sure measurements match the current layout; Islington officers can inspect licensed properties.

Minimum Room Sizes to Check Against Your Plan

Islington's local standards exceed the national minimums:

• Single bedroom (separate shared kitchen): 8.0 m² (national minimum is 6.51 m²)
• Double or shared bedroom: 11.0 m² (national minimum is 10.22 m²)
• Single bedroom with cooking facilities: 11.0 m²
• Shared kitchen (1–3 occupants): 5.5 m²
• Shared kitchen (4–5 occupants): 7.5 m²

Any room below 6.51 m² cannot be used as a bedroom at all, regardless of any other factor.

Getting Documents Right the First Time

The council's licensing portal experiences session crashes and timeout errors. If your documents aren't pre-assembled and ready to upload in one sitting, you risk losing unsaved data.

Name files clearly, ensure certificates haven't expired, and check that the EICR doesn't show unresolved defects. A rejected application doesn't get its Part A fee back.

The Islington Landlord Licensing Guide includes a pre-application document checklist and a room measurement worksheet.

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