Who can be the licence holder?
We will only grant a licence to someone who can demonstrate they are the most appropriate person to be the licence holder. Generally the proposed licence holder must be in control of the property and receiving the rent.
The proposed licence holder will have to be a ‘fit and proper’ person and must have satisfactory management arrangements in place for the property. To decide if the person applying is 'fit and proper', we will consider:
- any criminal convictions to do with violence, drugs, sexual offences or fraud
- whether they have broken any laws to do with housing or being a landlord
- whether they have been found guilty of unlawful discrimination
- whether they have previously managed House(s) in Multiple Occupation (HMO) and broken any approved code of practice.
The licence applicant must declare:
- that they are a ‘fit and proper’ person in their application
- any cautions issued by the police or convictions of an offence we’ve mentioned
- breach of housing or landlord and tenant law.
Licence conditions
If a licence is granted, it will be issued with a number of conditions that the licence holder must comply with. This includes:
- the statutory conditions in schedule 4 of the Housing Act 2004, and
- our set of conditions that are relevant to Manchester.
A licence holder who fails to comply with any of the conditions may be committing a criminal offence and may face prosecution. If convicted they could receive an unlimited fine.