Newham Licensing Documents Required: What to Upload With Your Application

Submitting a Newham licence application with a missing or expired document is one of the most expensive mistakes a landlord can make. The council retains the £400 Part A fee when it refuses a deficient application, so every document needs to be current, complete and clearly scanned before you start the online portal. Here is what you need.

Gas Safety Certificate (CP12)

Required for every property with a gas supply. The certificate must be issued within the preceding 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer and must show a satisfactory result covering all gas appliances, flues and pipework.

A certificate dated 13 months ago will not be accepted. If your annual gas check is due soon, get it done before applying — an expired CP12 mid-application means the council queries your submission and the clock starts ticking on your Part A fee.

Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)

The EICR must be dated within five years and show an overall satisfactory result. That means all C1 (danger present), C2 (potentially dangerous) and FI (further investigation required) defects must be resolved before submission. An EICR showing outstanding C2 codes will not satisfy the council even if the remedial work is scheduled.

The report must be issued by a qualified electrician. Newham does not specify a particular registration body, but the industry standard is NICEIC, NAPIT or ELECSA certification.

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)

EPCs are valid for up to 10 years. The licence application requires an EPC; Newham's checklist lists a rating between A and E.

If the EPC is rated A, B or C, you qualify for the £50 Warmer Homes discount on your licence fee. For HMOs, the EPC rating that counts is the one for the overall building, not individual rooms.

Upload a clear scan showing the unique certificate reference number and the rating. The reference number lets the council verify the certificate against the national EPC register.

Floor Plan With Room Dimensions

This is where most applications run into trouble. The floor plan must show:

• Every room with its current use labelled (bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, storage)
• Exact floor area in square metres for each room
• Ceiling heights, especially in loft conversions and rooms with sloped ceilings — any area where the ceiling is below 1.5 metres is excluded from the floor area calculation
• Fire alarm locations

For HMOs, the floor plan is critical because the council checks bedroom dimensions against statutory minimums: 6.51 m² for a single occupant aged 10 or over, 10.22 m² for two people, 4.64 m² for a child under 10. Any room below 4.64 m² cannot legally be used as sleeping accommodation.

A rough sketch is not sufficient. The plan needs accurate measurements — if the council's inspector finds discrepancies during a post-grant compliance visit, they can vary or revoke the licence.

Written Statement of Terms

Upload a copy of the current tenancy agreement or written statement of terms provided to tenants.

Accreditation Certificate (Optional, for Discount)

If you are claiming the £50 accredited landlord discount, upload your certificate from one of the recognised bodies: LLAS (London Landlord Accreditation Scheme), NRLA, BLA, Propertymark, Safeagent or UKALA. The membership must be active and include at least 5 hours of training. The accreditation must belong to the proposed licence holder — if your managing agent is accredited but you are the licence holder, you do not qualify.

Getting Scans Right

Upload everything as clear, legible PDF or image files. The portal runs a basic format and readability check, but a scan that passes automated validation can still be rejected during manual review if the text is not legible. High-contrast scans at 200 dpi or above avoid most issues.

The Newham Landlord Licensing Guide includes a document audit worksheet that tracks every certificate's expiry date and verification status, so nothing falls through the gap between assembling documents and hitting submit.

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