London Borough of Croydon

Croydon private rented property licence

As part of the Croydon Private Rented Property Licence scheme, all registered properties will be inspected at least once within the first five years of the scheme. The inspection will involve an officer visiting the property and conducting a number of checks. The aim of this pack and booklet is to help you prepare for the inspections.

Gov.uk provide helpful information for landlords

Gas safety

A gas certificate should be available to your tenants.

We recommend that carbon monoxide detectors are provided if there are gas appliances in a property. Please be aware that this is a legal requirement if there is a solid fuel appliance e.g. coal in the property.

Electrical safety and performance

Landlords - your electrical safety obligations

The Health and Safety Executive provide information on maintaining electrical equipment safely.

Energy performance certificates should be available to your tenants.

Tenancy agreements and deposit protection

At the inspection, officers will need to see a copy of the tenancy agreement between you and the tenant(s). Below are links for help understanding why a tenancy agreement is needed and what must be included in it, as well as a template to use.

Tenancy agreements a guide for landlords

Tenancy agreement template

Deposit protection schemes - You will need to provide proof of deposit protection.

Property maintenance information

Property inspections - You will need to provide evidence of property inspections (expectation for a minimum of two a year). To help with this, please see the inspection template available to download below.

We expect to see that tenants are recycling and that they have the right facilities. Please ensure refuse collection arrangements are appropriate for the property.

Please ensure that you and your tenants are aware of your responsibilities in regard to correct waste disposal. To help with this, please see the waste and recycling services factsheet available to download below. We advise you to provide your tenants with copies of it.

Fire safety information

Fire safety information - During the inspection, officers will be looking into a number of fire safety aspects such as whether a smoke detector is on each floor (these should be mains operated).

For further advice please see HMO fire standards guide available to download below. This guidance sets to help landlords, owners, agents etc. in complying with the legal requirements with regards to fire safety.

Please ensure you are aware of your responsibilities as a landlord.

Support when dealing with antisocial behaviour

To support Croydon landlords having to deal with antisocial behaviour (ASB) we have produced an ASB guide for landlords and dealing with ASB flowchart, both are available to download below.

Houses in multiple occupation (HMO)

Anyone who owns or manages an HMO which is occupied by five or more persons needs a mandatory licence.

Anyone who owns or manages an HMO which is occupied by three or more persons and does not meet the mandatory licensing criteria needs to apply for a Croydon private rented property licence.

For guidance on HMO space standards and Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) please see the HMO standards document available to download below.

Visit our HMO web pages for more information.

Landlord accreditation

The London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS) provides training and on-going professional development for landlords.

Website: www.londonlandlords.org.uk

You can also follow them on Twitter @LLAS_UKLAP

Right to rent

Since 1 February 2016 a new requirement for private landlords has been in place, to check the immigration status of prospective tenants and lodgers before they move in, to avoid liability for a civil penalty. More information is available to download below.

Letting services and initiatives for private landlords and agents

Due to increasing demand for accommodation and a shortage of social housing in the borough, we need landlords and agents within the M25 including Kent and Sussex to work with us as part of our housing solutions strategy. 

We can provide a seamless lettings service to accommodate your needs free of charge, offer a range of generous monetary incentives, deposit bonds and all legal documentation such as tenancy agreements.

More information about this service can be found on the housing initiatives web pages 

Contact us via email Landlords@croydon.gov.uk or call 020 8726 6789.

Useful contacts & websites 

Croydon private rented property licensing admin team propertylicensing@croydon.gov.uk
Selective licensing & enforcement team hsg-privatehousing@croydon.gov.uk
Pollution team pollution@croydon.gov.uk
HMO team hmo@croydon.gov.uk
Pest control team pest.control@croydon.gov.uk
Anti-social behaviour team  asbteam@croydon.gov.uk
Thames Water 0800 3169800
Land Registry www.landregistry.gov.uk
Valuation Office (council tax band queries) www.voa.gov.uk

Advice Sheets

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in private rented properties

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide (England) Regulations 2015 (2015 Regulations) came into force on 1 October 2015 to help tackle the increased risk of fire deaths and carbon monoxide poisoning in the private rented sector. They introduce new duties on a landlord (some exemptions exist) to ensure smoke alarms are fitted in all private rented accommodation and carbon monoxide alarms where solid fuel combustion appliances exist. Landlords are required to ensure that all smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are in working order at the start of the tenancy. 

For those premises that require a property licence (Houses in Multiple Occupation subject to mandatory licensing and premises subject to Selective Licensing), the 2015 Regulations amend existing requirements to make compliance with the Regulations a mandatory licence condition.

It is the responsibility of the Council to ensure compliance which includes the use of a remedial notice and, if that is not complied with, to carrying out the works in default.  Additionally, where the Council is satisfied that a landlord has not complied with a remedial notice, a Penalty Charge Notice, with a penalty of up to £5,000, can be issued. The option of taking a criminal prosecution in a Magistrates Court is not available. The sums received by the local authority can be used for any of its functions.

The 2015 Regulations require that the Council must prepare and publish a Statement of Principles which it is required to follow in determining the amount of penalty charge. 

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