Garden waste subscriptions

Garden waste subscription packs and bin stickers are on their way! Our teams are aware of who has subscribed and will collect your bin on your next collection date.

More information

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO's)

In this section

  1. What is a HMO?
  2. HMO Enforcement
  3. Mandatory Licensing
  4. HMO Standards
  5. Non Licensed HMO's
  6. Applying for a HMO Licence
  7. Report an Unlicensed HMO
  8. Planning Rules for HMO's
  9. Fees and charges
  10. FAQ's - houses in multiple occupation
  11. Fire Safety for HMO's

Applying for a HMO Licence

Privacy Notice - We collect and hold personal information about you because the Law, Parts 2 and 3 of the Housing Act 2004, say we must.   We use this information to amongst things maintain a public register of licensed HMOs and to make copies of the registers available to the public upon request, as required by the Act and its related statutory instrument.

To make a licence application valid (and for a landlord to fulfil their statutory duty to apply for a licence) we need: 

  1. A fully completed application form
  2. Supported documentation
  3. Part one of the application fee paying

Click here to apply for a HMO Licence

Information you need for an application  

You must provide contact details for all interested parties, including:

  • Applicant
  • Proposed licence holder
  • Manager(s)
  • Owner/Joint owners
  • Any long-term tenant(s)/leaseholder(s) 
  • Any other person willing to be bound by the conditions of the licence
  • The mortgage provider(s) and relevant account number(s)

You must have informed all of these people of your intention to apply for an HMO licence before submitting your application, and you will be asked to provide the date on which you (the applicant) informed each party.

You must also provide details of:

  • Knowledge of the criminal record, if any, of the applicant, proposed licence holder and manager
  • Details of relevant accreditations, qualifications and professional memberships
  • Details regarding the facilities and amenities of the house
  • Details of the scheme in which the tenancy deposits are held

Supporting documents

You must provide all of the following supporting documents and certificates:

  • Photo Identification for the proposed licensed holder. If a company is making the application. Photo ID for a the director or person in control of the company
  • Proof of address for the licence holder or company ( A council tax statement)
  • A current, valid gas safety certificate ( If applicable)
  • A current, valid electrical safety certificate – Electrical Installation Certificate or Periodic Inspection Report
  • A current, valid fire alarm test certificate
  • A current, valid emergency lighting test certificate, if there is emergency lighting in the property
  • An energy performance certificate (EPC)
  • Any work undertaken that has required building control sign off

Where a certificate comprises multiple pages, you must provide the whole certificate, not just the first page.

What we will do next

We will process your form and (if necessary) contact you to complete the application process or to book an appointment to carry out an inspection of the property. We aim to process all HMO applications within 12 weeks. Although this is dependent on a fully complete application been submitted

It is a condition of all HMO licenses in Stoke-On Trent that you send us updated certificates each year as they expire, so we always hold an up-to-date copy in our records.

Unsatisfactory certificates will not be accepted; any remedial works identified on the certificates must be completed and a new satisfactory certificate submitted.

We will inspect the property and draft licence conditions

After we have received your valid application, we will arrange to inspect the house.

We will then draft licence conditions based on the findings from this inspection. The draft licence (known as an intention notice) will be emailed or posted to you and other interested parties for consultation. Licenses can be served by post, but this incurs an additional fee.

You will have an opportunity to make any representations, which we will consider.

Make an HMO licence representation

We will then grant your HMO licence (known as the decision notice). Again, copies will be sent to all interested parties.

If you are still unhappy with the conditions, you will have an opportunity to appeal to the first-tier property tribunal.

We will re-inspect the property later to check conditions have been complied with. Failing to comply with any conditions on your licence is an offence.