Who can apply for a licence and who should be licence holder?
The property owner, landlord or managing agency can complete the licence application.
Licence holder nomination
As part of the application form you will be asked to nominate a licence holder. This will normally be the property owner but it can also be a person designated by the owner, such as a managing agent.
We would expect the nominated licence holder to have the power to:
- let and terminate the tenancies
- access all parts of the premises to the same extent as the owner; and
- authorise expenditure to ensure necessary repairs and maintenance is carried out.
Fit and proper person checks
Checks will be conducted to ensure the designated licence holder and manager where there is one is a ‘fit and proper person’.
As part of this we will need to consider any past behaviour that may compromise the welfare of the tenants and the good management of the property. Things to consider include:
- Any previous convictions relating to violence, sexual offences, drugs, fraud or other dishonesty
- Whether the person has broken laws relating to housing or landlord and tenant issues. This means where action has been taken against the person following the breach of a housing enforcement notice, where there has been a failure to comply with HMO management regulations, harassment or illegal eviction for example
- Whether the person has been found guilty of unlawful discrimination in connection with the running of a business
- Whether the person has previously managed a licensed property and has infringed any approved code of practice, or been refused a licence
- If the proposed licence holder resides outside the UK
- Inadequate financial resources.
To enable us to determine whether the proposed licence holder and manager are suitable the applicant(s) must:
- Make a declaration regarding their status as the appropriate person and being a fit and proper person to manage the property.
- Indicate whether it has been necessary for this or any other local authority to take action for failure to comply with any relevant Housing legislation or Approved Codes of Practice or issue a HMO Control Order or Interim or Final Management Order in respect of properties owned or managed by the applicant.
- Disclose information which may show that any person associated or formerly associated with the intended licence holder has done any of the above things, since it is necessary to consider this evidence and its relevancy to the applicant’s suitability.
Information in the application form will be shared with Nottinghamshire Police and other local authorities routinely to enable the fit and proper person test to be carried out effectively.
We will also require details of all people involved in the ownership or management. If the proposed licence holder is not deemed to be fit and proper, and a suitable alternative cannot be nominated by the applicant or owner, the licence may not be issued. In such cases the application will be refused.
Data sharing
In submitting your application you are giving permission for us to share information, including personal data, disclosed on your application with other agencies for the purpose of conducting the fit and proper checks.
We will only ask for the information we need to process your Selective Licensing application and once provided, the information will only be used for this purpose. All information will be held securely. For further information please see our Privacy Notice. Once provided, the information will be held securely.
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