Lewisham Property Licence Documents: What You Need to Submit

Getting the documents right before you submit is the single most useful thing you can do to avoid a rejected Lewisham property licence application. Part A is non-refundable for refusals based on incomplete documents — an expired certificate or a missing required document can mean you lose your fee and start again.

Documents Required for All Schemes

These apply whether you are applying for a selective licence, additional HMO licence or mandatory HMO licence:

Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) Must show a "Satisfactory" overall result. Any C1 (danger present) or C2 (potentially dangerous) observations must be rectified and the report re-issued before submission. An EICR with outstanding C1 or C2 codes will be rejected. Valid for five years from the date of inspection.

Gas Safety Certificate Required for every property with a gas supply or gas appliances. Must be less than 12 months old on the date you submit the application — not the date of the inspection visit. Annual renewal is a licence condition, so plan the inspection cycle to keep a valid certificate throughout the licence term.

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) The property must meet the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard of grade E or above. If the EPC rating is below E and no valid exemption is registered, the application will be refused. EPCs last 10 years.

Additional Documents for HMO Licences

If you are applying for an additional HMO licence (three or four occupants) or a mandatory HMO licence (five or more occupants), you also need:

Fire Risk Assessment A written fire risk assessment compliant with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This must be a proper document, not a verbal assessment. Reviewed annually and updated whenever the property layout or occupancy changes.

Fire Alarm and Detection Testing Certificate Issued to BS 5839 Part 6. Covers the commissioning of the alarm system and its annual inspection. The certificate must confirm that the system is in working order and meets the appropriate grade for the property.

Emergency Lighting Certificate Required where the HMO has complex escape routes (internal corridors, stairs serving multiple bedrooms). Issued to BS 5266 Part 1 and tested annually.

Floor Plans Architectural-quality plans showing:

• Room dimensions in square metres
• Window positions
• Fire escape routes
• Location of smoke detectors, fire doors and alarm call points

Floor plans must be to scale. Rough sketches or hand-drawn layouts are typically rejected. For HMO room-size compliance, note that floor area where the ceiling height is below 1.5 metres does not count toward the minimum.

Portable Appliance Testing (PAT)

Lewisham requires annual PAT testing of all landlord-supplied electrical appliances with plugs — kettles, microwaves, fridges, washing machines. While the test results are not always uploaded during the initial application, they form part of the licence conditions and will be checked during inspections.

Interested Party Information

The application requires you to identify and provide details for all interested parties: freeholders (if leasehold), head lessors, mortgage lenders, joint owners and managing agents. Before submission, you must serve written notice on each party telling them you are applying for a property licence. The portal includes a statutory declaration confirming you have done this.

Document Validity Timing

Every document must be valid on the date the application is submitted and payment is processed — not the date you first uploaded it to the portal. If you draft an application over several weeks, re-check expiry dates before you click submit.

What Gets Applications Rejected

The most common rejection reasons, based on council guidance and landlord forum reports:

1. Expired gas safety certificate — the certificate was valid when the landlord began drafting but expired before submission.
2. EICR with outstanding C1/C2 codes — the landlord uploaded the original report without getting the remedial work done and a satisfactory re-test issued.
3. Missing floor plans — selective licence applicants sometimes assume floor plans are only needed for HMOs. The council may request them for any scheme.
4. Incomplete interested party disclosure — forgetting to list the mortgage lender or a joint freeholder.

Each of these results in a rejected application and a lost Part A fee (£160 for selective, £250 per unit for HMOs).

The Lewisham Landlord Licensing Guide includes a pre-submission document audit checklist covering every certificate, its validity window and the specific format the MetaStreet portal accepts.

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