LANDLORD LICENCE APPLICATION COVERING LETTER
Important legal, jurisdiction and formality warning
This fictional letter is a worked educational example, not a statutory HMO licence application, licence, approval or certificate of compliance. The landlord must use the current prescribed or council-provided application form, pay the correct fee, serve the required notices, disclose all relevant persons and submit accurate plans and certificates. The Housing Act 2004, licensing regulations, local additional or selective licensing scheme, planning rules, building regulations, fire-safety duties, gas and electrical requirements, housing health and safety rating system, room-size standards, immigration and data-protection rules may apply. A licence application does not authorise occupation where planning permission or another consent is absent, and a licence is not a guarantee that every duty has been met. The council may inspect, request information, impose conditions, refuse an application or take enforcement action. Obtain specialist housing and legal advice before relying on this letter.
To the licensing team
Date: 3 November 2027
Licensing and Private Sector Housing Team Northbridge City Council Civic Offices, 1 Market Square Northbridge NB1 2AA
By email: hmo.licensing@northbridge.example.test
Dear Licensing Officer,
Re: proposed mandatory HMO licence application—19 Millbrook Terrace, Northbridge NB3 6RL
I, Jonathan Peter Wills, of 6 Orchard Wharf, Northbridge NB2 4HT, write as the freehold owner and proposed licence holder for 19 Millbrook Terrace, Northbridge NB3 6RL (the Property). My email is jonathan.wills@example.test and my telephone number is 01632 555 812. This letter accompanies, but does not replace, the current Northbridge City Council HMO licence application form. I request that the council opens an application record and confirms any missing prescribed information, fee or notice.
The Property is a three-storey terraced house containing five bedrooms, one kitchen, one shared dining and sitting area, two bathrooms, one separate WC, a rear yard, a front entrance and a shared internal staircase. The Property is intended to be occupied by five persons forming five separate households, each under an individual room agreement, sharing the kitchen, bathrooms and common areas. It is therefore being presented for assessment as a possible mandatory HMO. The current proposed occupancy is five persons aged 18 or over. No person under 18 is intended to occupy it, no room is proposed for more than one person, and no room is being presented as a self-contained flat.
1. Applicant, ownership and management
The registered owner is Jonathan Peter Wills. The title number is NBK 621904. The freehold was acquired on 17 February 2022 and is charged to Eastmarch Bank plc, mortgage reference EM-803174. The bank has been notified that the property is to be operated as shared accommodation, but its written consent and any insurance condition must be checked and retained. This letter does not bind the lender.
I seek to be named as the proposed licence holder. I am not disqualified from holding a licence to the best of my knowledge, have not been convicted of an offence relevant to property management or housing safety, and have not had a housing licence revoked. The council must carry out its own fit-and-proper-person assessment and I will provide any declaration or evidence requested. If the form requires details of a director, associate, mortgagee, manager or person having control, those details will be supplied fully rather than omitted because they are not repeated here.
Day-to-day management will be carried out by Maple Quay Housing Management Limited, company number 15429071, of 44 Canal Street, Northbridge NB2 7EU. Its nominated manager is Helen Miriam Cross, who can be contacted at helen.cross@example.test and 01632 555 644. Maple Quay is authorised by a written management agreement dated 1 October 2027, but Jonathan remains responsible for ensuring that the licence conditions and statutory duties are met. The manager will maintain a 24-hour emergency line, log repairs and inspections, arrange contractors, keep tenant contact data securely and refer serious hazards to Jonathan and the council.
The application fee quoted by the council’s published schedule for a five-person mandatory HMO application is £1,260.00, comprising first-stage submission £720.00 and second-stage inspection and determination £540.00, subject to the council’s current schedule and any discount or change. I authorise the council to confirm the correct amount before payment. I will not treat payment of a fee as acceptance that a licence will be granted.
2. Occupiers and room schedule
The proposed occupiers as at 3 November 2027 are:
* Room 1, ground floor rear, 9.4 square metres, proposed occupier Aisha Miriam Rahman, a single adult household. * Room 2, ground floor front, 10.1 square metres, proposed occupier Thomas Henry Vale, a single adult household. * Room 3, first floor front, 11.6 square metres, proposed occupier Priyanka Rose Nair, a single adult household. * Room 4, first floor rear, 10.8 square metres, proposed occupier Lewis Gareth Morgan, a single adult household. * Room 5, second floor, 12.3 square metres, proposed occupier Sophie Elin James, a single adult household.
The bedroom areas total 54.2 square metres (9.4 + 10.1 + 11.6 + 10.8 + 12.3). The room measurements are internal floor areas taken from the measured plan prepared by Civic Line Surveying on 12 October 2027. The surveyor’s plan identifies the usable floor area, ceiling heights and windows; sloping or obstructed areas must be treated as the council’s rules require. No room is to be occupied until the authority has confirmed that the proposed occupancy and room standards are acceptable. The proposed agreements will state the permitted room and shared facilities and will not authorise more than five persons or an unapproved additional household.
The five intended agreements are for fixed rooms with access to shared facilities. Copies can be supplied securely to the council when requested. The rent proposed for each room is £735.00 per calendar month including reasonable use of heating, electricity, water, council tax and broadband. The combined scheduled rent is £3,675.00 per month (5 multiplied by £735.00). Rent is not evidence of an application outcome and will not be used to justify unsafe occupation. Deposit handling, tenancy or licence classification and any prescribed information will be reviewed separately.
3. Plans, fire safety and facilities
The submission package includes a measured floor plan showing every bedroom, the kitchen, common rooms, bathrooms, stairs, doors, windows, escape route, alarm positions and fire-resisting construction identified by the assessor. It also includes a fire-risk assessment dated 20 October 2027 by Beacon Fire Consultancy, assessor reference BFC-2217. The assessment recommends interlinked mains-powered smoke and heat alarms with battery backup, emergency lighting to the stair and ground-floor escape route, fire-resisting doors where specified, a fire action notice, clear escape routes, a fire blanket in the kitchen and a maintained extinguisher only where the competent assessor considers it appropriate. Those recommendations are to be completed or verified before occupation.
The kitchen has an electric oven and hob, extractor, refrigerator, freezer, sink, worktop, cupboards and a fire door opening to the common hall. There are two bathrooms, each with a WC, basin, bath or shower, mechanical extraction and hot and cold water. The kitchen will have at least 1,200 millimetres of usable worktop alongside food preparation and cooking equipment, subject to the council’s inspection. The sitting and dining area measures 17.8 square metres and will contain seating for five. The landlord will not count a bedroom as a shared living room.
The gas boiler is in the ground-floor utility cupboard. Northbridge Heatcare Limited, Gas Safe registration 648219, inspected the appliances and flue on 6 October 2027; the gas safety record is included and will be renewed at the required interval. The fixed electrical installation was inspected by Arcstone Electrical Testing, certificate AET-27-1048 dated 9 October 2027. Portable appliances supplied by the landlord will be visually checked and tested on a recorded schedule. The landlord will provide the required smoke, heat and carbon-monoxide alarms and maintain a test log.
The rear yard has a secure bin store and a covered cycle rack. Waste collection is every Tuesday under the council’s current schedule. Occupiers will receive written refuse, recycling and noise instructions. The common parts will be inspected monthly by Maple Quay, with a dated entry in the management log. A contractor will not use a room as a bedroom or store belongings in an escape route. Any defect affecting fire safety, gas, electricity, structure, sanitation or security will be escalated immediately and the affected area will be made safe.
4. Management plan and landlord undertakings
Before any letting, Jonathan and Maple Quay will provide occupiers with emergency contacts, fire action information, alarm instructions, waste arrangements and a copy of the relevant licence once granted. Occupiers will be told that a licence is not a warranty of safety and that they must report defects. Contractors will be competent and insured; records will show the contractor, date, work, invoice and follow-up.
The management plan provides for: weekly visual checks of the common parts during the first month and monthly thereafter; monthly alarm and emergency-light checks recorded by the manager; six-monthly review of fire-risk controls; annual gas safety inspection or the legally required shorter interval; periodic electrical review as required by the report and law; prompt repair of leaks, loss of heating, unsafe locks or alarm faults; and a quarterly review of the occupancy list. Jonathan will notify the council of a material change, including a change of licence holder, manager, number of occupiers, room use, ownership or contact address, in the manner and time required by the licence and law.
Maple Quay will keep complaints, repair logs, certificates, inspection reports, occupancy information and licence correspondence for at least the applicable legal, insurance and tax period. Personal information will be restricted to staff and contractors who need it, stored securely and disclosed to the council, emergency service or professional adviser only lawfully. The landlord will not retaliate against an occupier for reporting a hazard or contacting the council.
I understand that planning permission, permitted development rights, building regulations, selective or additional licensing, landlord registration and local amenity policies may apply separately. I have asked Northbridge Planning Advice Limited to check the planning history and will not assume that a planning use or building-control document substitutes for an HMO licence. If the council requires an application under another scheme, I will make it.
5. Request and declaration
Please confirm the current application form, fee, service and consultation requirements, whether any additional persons must receive notice, and whether the council requires an inspection before determining the application. I request that the council considers the complete submission only after it has confirmed that the plans and documents are legible and current. If there is an omission or inconsistency, please identify it so that I can correct it rather than relying on silence.
I declare that the information in this covering letter is accurate to the best of my knowledge as at 3 November 2027. Measurements, certificates and records are fictional examples for this sample and must be replaced by authentic current documents before use. I understand that a false statement can have legal consequences and that a licence, if granted, may contain conditions and an expiry date. This letter is not legal advice, a licence, a prescribed form or permission to occupy.
Yours faithfully,
Signed by Jonathan Peter Wills, proposed licence holder and freehold owner Signature: ____________________ Date: 3 November 2027
Address: 6 Orchard Wharf, Northbridge NB2 4HT Email: jonathan.wills@example.test Telephone: 01632 555 812
Illustrative enclosure schedule
1. Current Northbridge City Council HMO application form, completed and signed. 2. Title register and plan for NBK 621904, with identity and lender information as requested. 3. Measured floor plan dated 12 October 2027. 4. Fire-risk assessment dated 20 October 2027 and action schedule. 5. Gas safety record dated 6 October 2027. 6. Electrical installation condition report dated 9 October 2027. 7. Alarm, emergency-light and fire-door maintenance records available at inspection. 8. Management agreement with Maple Quay Housing Management Limited. 9. Proposed occupancy and room schedule. 10. Proof of payment of the correct council fee, once the council confirms it.
The enclosure list is a planning aid only. The council’s current application requirements, statutory forms, prescribed notices and inspection process take priority.