Salford Fit and Proper Person Test: What Landlords Need to Know

Before Salford City Council grants any property licence — selective, mandatory HMO, or Section 257 — they assess whether you're a "fit and proper person" to hold it. This isn't a rubber stamp. The council has the power to refuse a licence entirely if the assessment goes against you.

What the Council Checks

Under Sections 66 and 89 of the Housing Act 2004, Salford evaluates the proposed licence holder and the proposed property manager against several criteria:

Unspent criminal convictions involving fraud, dishonesty, violence, drugs, or sexual offences. Spent convictions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 don't need to be declared, but unspent ones are examined on a case-by-case basis.

Housing-related findings: any findings of unlawful discrimination in connection with housing (on grounds of sex, colour, race, ethnic origin, or disability), historical judgments or financial civil penalties under housing legislation, public health law, or building safety regulations.

Licensing history: whether you've had a property licence revoked or refused by any UK local authority, not just Salford. A previous decision elsewhere may be considered in your Salford assessment, but it is not an automatic bar to a licence.

Association with unsuitable persons: if you manage the property through an agent, the agent is assessed separately. If the council decides the manager fails the test, that's enough to refuse the licence even if you as owner pass it.

The DBS Disclosure Requirement

Salford's online portal requires both the Property Manager and the Proposed Licence Holder to submit a Basic DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) criminal record disclosure as part of the application. This is a Basic disclosure, not an Enhanced one — it shows unspent convictions only.

The critical detail: the DBS certificate must be dated within the last three months when submitted for the manager or licence-holder registration. A DBS disclosure from four months ago is expired for this purpose, and the portal will flag it.

You can order a Basic DBS disclosure online through the GOV.UK DBS service. Applications take an average of 3 days to process, though some take longer. Build this into your timeline — order the DBS before you start gathering your other documents, so it arrives in time.

The Basic disclosure is the stated requirement. If background verification raises compliance concerns, the council may contact you for further information.

What Happens If You Fail

If the council determines you're not a fit and proper person, they refuse the licence. Your Part A application fee is non-refundable, as it covers the administrative processing that's already happened.

More seriously, if there's no other suitable person who can hold the licence (for example, you're the sole owner and there's no managing agent to step in), the council may make an Interim Management Order. This transfers full management control and rent collection rights to Salford City Council for up to 12 months, extendable to five years under a Final Management Order.

Managing Agents and the Fit and Proper Test

If you use a managing agent and they're nominated as either the licence holder or the property manager on the application, they go through the same assessment. The council checks their personal background, their company's compliance history, and whether they have a formal management agreement granting them full management control and financial authority to execute safety repairs.

A "let-only" agent who found the tenant but doesn't manage the property won't satisfy this requirement. The person in control of the premises — as defined by Section 263 of the Housing Act 2004 — is the individual who receives the rack-rent, whether on their own account or as agent.

Declarations on the Portal

The fit and proper declarations are part of the portal application workflow. You'll be asked to confirm, under a formal declaration, that the information you've provided about convictions, licensing history, and professional conduct is complete and accurate.

An inaccurate or incomplete declaration can affect the fit-and-proper assessment and lead to refusal. If in doubt about what must be declared, ask the council before submitting. An honest declaration of an old offence is far less damaging than a concealed one that surfaces later.

For the full application walkthrough — including when to order your DBS, what other documents you need, and how the three-step portal works — our Salford licensing guide covers the entire process.

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