- Why do I need to apply for an Additional Licence?
Please visit the Local Authority’s website for further information about Additional Licensing in the administrative area of Peterborough City Council. The website will tell you everything you need to know about Additional Licensing and any active schemes in the area.
You will also find information about the consultation, the licence conditions and your obligations as a Landlord.
The following link will take you directly to the appropriate page: Visit Peterborough City Council’s Additional Licensing webpage.
- Are there any exemptions?
Yes. The full list of exemptions can be found on the Local Authority’s website and can be accessed using the following link. Exemptions. Please note a temporary exemption only applies in special circumstances, and an application carries a fee of £150 per property per application, and if granted will last for 3 months. Please note, however, that only two consecutive temporary exemption notices can be granted, and if the property is still let after that, you will need to apply for a licence.
- Who is Home Safe?
Home Safe is a Delivery Partner that works with Local Authorities on the administration of their property licensing schemes, enabling Local Authorities to focus their resources on targeted enforcement against non compliant Landlords. By working with a Delivery Partner the Local Authority is able to provide Landlords with an online property portal enabling them to add their properties, submit licence applications and manage their ongoing compliance.
As part of Home Safe’s service we provide a managed licence application service to Landlords, funded by the Local Authority, to ensure that Landlords are supported in submitting a compliant application. The Delivery Partner also manages and delivers the inspection programmes during the scheme and is responsible for identifying issues within a property that will require managing within an agreed compliance management process. It's important to note that the Local Authority is the Licensing Authority and any licence issued or enforcement delivered will be done via the Local Authority.
- Can I apply directly to the Local Authority
No. The Local Authority has engaged the services of a Delivery Partner, Home Safe, to manage the application and inspection process. In essence, applying via Home Safe is the same as applying directly to a Local Authority. Applications must be made through the Home Safe platform.
- How do I apply for a licence?
To apply for a licence you must submit an application via Home Safe. To do that you will firstly need to register as an applicant and verify your identification, after which you can add your property and apply for your licence. You will find a link to register and log in in the top right corner of this website and once registered you will then need to use the login button to access the portal where you can add your properties and submit your licence applications.
- How do I register as an Applicant?
To apply for a property licence, you must first register as an Applicant. This allows your identity and address to be verified before you can begin adding properties and submitting licence applications.
To start, click ‘Register as an Applicant’ on the portal homepage. You’ll be asked to enter your email address, and a verification code will be sent to you by email. Enter this code to proceed.
You’ll then begin the registration process, which involves providing your personal details and verifying your identity and proof of address using Yoti, a secure, government-approved identification platform. In most cases, verification is completed within a few minutes, but please allow up to 48 hours.
Once your identity has been successfully verified, you will receive a confirmation email. You’ll then be able to log in to the portal, add your property details, and begin your licence application.
Please note that you must complete the Applicant registration and identity verification before you can submit any applications.
- Which documents can I use to verify my identify with Yoti?
A list of accepted documents can be found here.
- Is Yoti secure?
Yoti uses advanced encryption and meets the highest security standards. Verification through Yoti is a legal requirement of the scheme and must be completed before you can apply for a licence.
- What information will I need to apply for a licence?
In order to submit a licence application, you will need to have all relevant information about the property and the tenancy to hand, as well as electronic copies of all relevant certificates, such as an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), Gas Certificate (GSC) and an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) if required for the current letting.
You will also need:
- PAT Testing Certificate (If any portable appliances are over 1 year old).
- Tenancy details, if the property is currently let
- Fire Risk Assessment (FRA)
- Fire Alarm Test Certificate (if the property has a fire alarm panel)
- Emergency Lighting Test Certificate (if applicable)
- Fire Extinguisher Service Record (if applicable)
- Floor plan.
Please note you will be required to provide contact numbers and email addresses for all relevant interested parties, such as all Tenants, mortgage companies, Agents and in cases of leasehold flats, the freeholder. You will also need to provide details of the appropriate person to contact in order to arrange your property inspections.
- How do I calculate maximum occupancy?
To calculate the maximum occupancy, you must refer to the minimum floor-space requirements set out in the scheme conditions. Any room used as sleeping accommodation must meet the minimum size for the number and age of occupants you intend to house. A room used as sleeping accommodation by one person aged 10 years or over must be at least 6.51m², while a room used by two people aged over 10 years must be at least 10.22m². If a room will be occupied by one child under 10 years old, it must be at least 4.64m².
Any room that is smaller than 4.64m² cannot be used as sleeping accommodation under any circumstances.
The floor area measured must exclude any en-suite bathroom. Be aware that adding an en-suite bathroom will reduce the overall floor area of the bedroom.
Any part of a bedroom where the ceiling height is less than 1.5 metres should be excluded (for example attic rooms with a sloping roof) shall be excluded when calculating the floor area.
How to work out your figure
- Measure the usable floor area of each room you intend to use as sleeping accommodation.
- Check each room against the minimum sizes above.
- Decide whether each room can accommodate one person, two people, or no one.
- Add these numbers together to calculate the maximum occupancy for the property.
This is the figure you will declare during your application. Our inspector will verify your calculation during the inspection. If the figure is incorrect, the licence will be varied to reflect the accurate maximum occupancy, and a variation fee will apply.
- What happens after the licence is issued?
Once the licence has been issued by the Local Authority, you are operating legally, but you must continue to comply with the licence conditions. Within the licence period, Home Safe intends to carry out two property inspections of each licensed property. This is to ensure no serious hazards exist in your property. Following the completion of each inspection, you will receive a report, by email, which will detail any identified issues and will categorise such issues as Advisory, Potentially Enforceable or Imminent Danger. You will be expected to resolve any identified issues in a reasonable timescale and provide evidence that such issues have been resolved. If this evidence is not provided, the Local Authority may take enforcement action against you as the licence holder.
Throughout the duration of the scheme, Licence Holders are expected to keep the information in their property portal up to date at all times, including the updating of any new certificates; failure to do so could result in enforcement action by the Local Authority.
- Who is the most suitable person to be a licence holder?
It is expected that the most appropriate person to be the licence holder would be the person acting as Landlord, and this would typically be the property owner, as they would typically be in receipt of the rental income. Applications from any individuals that are not the property owner will be subject to review and will require the submission of a consent to let form and may require additional supporting information to be submitted. If the property is owned by a limited company then the most appropriate person to be the licence holder would be the individual registered as the person in significant control and where there is no identified individual in significant control, it should be the majority shareholder or a nominated director.
It's worth noting that if you do not reside in the UK then you will be unable to be a licence holder and you will need to nominate an alternative individual to be the licence holder, who in turn must be formally empowered and financially enabled to make decisions regarding the property as they will be bound by the licence conditions. It is important to note that the licence holder is the person legally responsible for the property and the person against whom any enforcement action would be taken, should that be necessary.
- Can my agent be the licence holder?
If you are the property owner and you reside in the UK then you are the most appropriate person to be the licence holder, and your Agent should be added to your application as an interested party, using the ‘Add Agent’ feature within your application. It is not appropriate for an Agent to be the licence holder unless proper justification can be provided, such as the property owner not residing in the UK.
Please note that in order to add your Agent to an application, your Agent must first register and verify themselves with Home Safe. If an Agent does not appear in the list of available Agents then you can add your Agent manually in order to proceed and Home Safe will seek to verify them. If the Agent is not responsive then you will be required to remove them from your application or add a verified Agent in order for your application to be considered a valid submission.
- What if I need to change my agent after my licence has been granted?
Once your licence has been issued you can go back to your portal, go to your licensed property and select the action to change your Agent.
- How long will it take to do an application?
If you have all the required information to hand, then submitting a valid application should take no more than 5 minutes per property.
Please note that once you have started an application you have 28 days to complete and submit that application. Failure to do this will result in your application locking and you will then be required to request for it to be ‘unlocked’ and provide reasons as to why you were unable to complete your application within the 28 day period. This could result in enforcement action being taken against you for failure to licence.
- How long will I have to complete my application once I have started it?
Once an application has been started you will have 28 Days to complete and submit your application. An application is only considered to have a valid submission if all the information provided is correct, the certificates are valid and Payment of the Part A Fee has been received. During the 28 day period you will receive a number of email reminders but following the expiry of the 28 days your application will lock and you will need to contact Home Safe in order for the application to be unlocked. Please note, you are required to make an application for a licence within 28 days of the intention to let the property, for example if you have recently purchased a vacant property that you wish to let, and failure to do so could result in a significant fine and is considered a criminal offence.
- How much will it cost?
The total cost of a licence for this scheme is £1,100, Part A of which equates to £588 and Part B equates to £512. Payment of Part A must be submitted with your application in order for your application to be considered complete and valid.
- How do I pay for my application?
Part A of the fee is payable when the application is submitted,and Part B of the fee will be invoiced at the point the draft licence is issued. The final licence cannot be issued until Part B has been paid in full, this will need paying within 7 days of being issued. If a licence is rejected or otherwise not issued, only the Part B element of the fee is eligible for a refund if it has been paid.
At the end of the application process, you will be asked to pay Part A of the licence fee using a UK debit or credit card, it will not be possible to submit your application without payment If you are unable to make your payment using a card then you will need to contact Home Safe to explore other payment options.
Can I pay monthly or annually?
No, Part A of the licence fee must be paid in full with your application and Part B must be paid in full within 7 days of receiving your draft licence and the corresponding invoice.
- What happens if any of my property certificates expire before my application is processed?
Once you have submitted your application, you are required to ensure that your latest certificates are always uploaded to your property portal in order to demonstrate ongoing compliance. By doing this, your property certificates should always be up to date. If your certificates were valid at the time the application was submitted, then your application will be processed as a valid application. However, following your final licence being issued, your property will then be brought to the immediate attention of the Local Authority for consideration of a failure to certificate offence. Failure to provide up-to-date certificates can result in enforcement action by the Local Authority, and in some cases, your licence may be revoked.
- What happens once my application is submitted?
Once your application has been submitted, it will show as submitted in your portal, and you will receive an email confirmation that you have submitted a valid application. Following this Home Safe will review your application, and once all information is verified, it will be passed to the Local Authority for processing. It's worth noting that during this time, Home Safe or the Local Authority may need to come back to you for further information.
Once a valid application has been processed, the applicant and all identified interested parties will be sent a draft licence and the applicant will be emailed an invoice for the Part B element of the fee which will need to be paid within 7 days. After a period of 35 days has lapsed, if there have been no representations made that require further investigation and payment of the Part B fee has been received, then the Local Authority can issue the final licence. It’s important to note that the process of issuing a final licence can take up to 6 months, if you have received your email confirmation of a valid application, then please do not chase up your licence until six months have elapsed. Tacit consent is not applicable to this type of application as the Local Authority must ensure that the applicant licence holder is the most appropriate person, is a ‘Fit and Proper Person’ and that the property connected with the application is within the designated Additional Licensing scheme area.
- When will I get my first inspection?
There will be two inspection programmes during the scheme, during which all properties will be inspected.
Our inspectors will attempt to schedule the property inspection using the information provided during your application, which you are expected to update during the scheme if there have been any changes. Please note that it remains the responsibility of the licence holder to facilitate access even if a third party has been nominated as a point of contact and even if the property is managed by an Agent.
- What if I change my personal details?
If there is a change to your name, personal address or contact information, then you must update the profile information within your portal. In the case of a change to a licence holder's name or personal address, this will raise a variation request, which may result in a charge.
- What if I no longer need a licence?
Once your licence has been issued, you can go to your portal and request a termination. This is typically done if you have sold the property, no longer intend to let the property or no longer wish to be the licence holder. Please note that no refunds will be issued for any licences terminated before the expiry date of the scheme.
- What if I already hold a licence for my property under Peterborough City Council's Selective Licensing Scheme?
Home Safe will contact any licence holders under the Selective Licensing Scheme who are required to obtain an Additional Licence to arrange for their existing licence to be transferred.
As part of this process, you will need to provide additional documentation, including documents relating to fire safety and room sizes. There will also be a fee payable, which will be the difference between the fee already paid for the Selective Licence and the fee for the Additional Licence.
- What if I sell my property?
You will need to submit a termination request in order to have your licence revoked, which you can do in your portal.
- If I sell my property, am I entitled to a refund?
No, there are no refunds available for licence fees.
- Is the licence transferable?
No. Each licence is for the named licence holder and if, for whatever reason, that person needs to change then a new application and accompanying fee must be submitted and the existing licence will need to be terminated.
- What are the penalties of not having an Additional Licence?
It is against the law for any Landlord to rent out a property in a designated Additional Licence area without a licence. The Local Authority is committed to working with other partner agencies to find unlicensed properties and take legal action.
Landlords with unlicensed rented properties can face a financial penalty of up to £30,000 or an unlimited fine from the court. Their control of unlicensed properties can be removed and they can be ordered to repay up to 12 months rent to the Local Authority or their tenants.
If you are aware of a property being let that does not have a licence, please email additional.licensing@peterborough.gov.uk with any details.
- What are the licence conditions attached to a licence?
The full list of licence conditions can be found here.
- What is the benefit of the Local Authority engaging a Delivery Partner to support them with the delivery of their scheme?
With regard to applications, it removes the administrative burden from the Local Authority and allows them to focus their activities on issuing licences and enforcement. With regard to property inspections, it allows for a greater volume of inspections to be carried out, which serves to highlight the worst-performing Landlords. In all scenarios, the Local Authority can focus its resources on enforcing against those most deserving, more efficiently and effectively. Using a delivery partner also ensures that the scheme is delivered as intended and without needing additional funds from the public purse.
For Landlords, Home Safe provides additional help, training and support throughout the entire licensing period and creates a level playing field for all Landlords operating in the area In recognition of the financial pressures that some Landlords may experience as a result of licensing, Home Safe has negotiated a number of discounts with reputable organisations that Licence Holders can benefit from. To see the current discounts available please visit the ‘Landlord Discounts’ area of our website or select the following link Landlord Discounts.
- How can I contact Home Safe?
In the first instance, all enquiries should be sent by email to info@home-safe.org.uk.
