Thurrock Fit and Proper Person Test for Landlord Licensing

Who Needs to Pass

Every property licensing application in Thurrock requires the proposed licence holder and the property manager (if they are different people) to satisfy the council's fit-and-proper assessment. This applies to selective licences, additional HMO licences and mandatory HMO licences alike.

The licence holder must be the person who exercises day-to-day management control over the property — typically the legal owner or a managing agent who collects rent, arranges repairs and can start or end tenancies.

What the Council Checks

Under Sections 66 and 89 of the Housing Act 2004, Thurrock Council evaluates whether the applicant has:

• Criminal convictions involving fraud, dishonesty, violence, illegal drugs or sexual offences
• Discrimination findings — unlawful discrimination on grounds of sex, race, ethnic or national origin, colour or disability in business operations
• Housing law breaches — prior convictions for operating unlicensed properties, breaching licence conditions, failing to comply with improvement notices or other landlord and tenant law violations

The council also considers whether any company the applicant is associated with has a relevant compliance history.

DBS Checks

A routine application does not automatically require a Basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate. However, Thurrock Council reserves the right to request criminal record checks if anything in the application raises concerns — previous housing enforcement action, inconsistent declarations or background information from the public register.

Overseas Landlords

If the property owner lives outside the United Kingdom, the council will not issue a licence directly to them. The application must nominate a UK-based managing agent as the licence holder. That agent takes on legal responsibility for all licence conditions and must pass the fit-and-proper test themselves.

For corporate applicants, Thurrock accepts applications only from UK-registered limited companies with an active Companies House office. A listed company director must be named as the licence holder.

Declarations Are Legally Binding

The online application requires you to sign digital declarations confirming you have disclosed all relevant matters. Providing false or misleading information on a licensing application is a criminal offence under Section 238 of the Housing Act 2004.

What If You Fail

If the council determines that the proposed licence holder is not fit and proper, it will refuse the licence application. You can appeal that refusal to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) within 28 days of the council's decision notice. The appeal is a formal legal process — informal complaint emails to the council do not extend the 28-day deadline.

For the full licensing application walkthrough, including how to structure your fit-and-proper declarations, see our Thurrock landlord licensing guide.

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