Every certificate an HMO licence demands — gas, electrical, fire, energy and appliance testing — produced by one supplier, filed in one place, and renewed from one calendar across your whole portfolio.
The checklist
An HMO's paperwork isn't one certificate but a stack, each on its own renewal cycle, each expected by the council in your licence file. The table below is the working checklist we run for HMO clients — your licence conditions may add to it, which is why we always work from your council's exact requirements rather than a generic list.
| Certificate | Typical frequency | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Gas safety record (CP12) | Every 12 months | Any HMO with gas appliances or flues |
| EICR | At least every 5 years | All HMOs — with the 28-day rule on defects (below) |
| EPC — band E or better | Valid 10 years | All HMOs let on qualifying tenancies |
| Fire risk assessment | Kept under regular review | All HMOs — the Fire Safety Order applies to shared premises |
| Fire alarm service certificate | Periodic servicing, typically six-monthly | HMOs with a graded fire detection system |
| Emergency lighting certificate | Annual full-duration test, with regular function tests | Larger HMOs and those with escape routes needing illumination |
| PAT testing | Commonly every 12 months | Landlord-supplied portable appliances |
The 28-day rule: where an EICR for an HMO identifies remedial work, licensing requires the report to be given to the local authority and the defects to be completed within 28 days. We book remedial capacity alongside the inspection itself, so a C2 on the report doesn't turn into a race against the calendar.
Why one supplier
Each certificate at each address is logged with its expiry, and we contact you to rebook before anything lapses. A landlord with three HMOs is tracking twenty-plus expiry dates; we make that our problem instead of yours, and align visits so one appointment covers several certificates.
Certificates are issued in the formats councils expect and filed per property, so when a licence application or renewal is due, the evidence pack already exists. Gaps found during any visit — a missing CO alarm, an unserviced panel — are flagged and quoted straight away rather than left for an officer to find.
Alarms sit alongside the certificates: HMOs need working smoke alarms on every storey and carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with fixed combustion appliances, and licensing officers check both. We test and record them during certificate visits as standard. For the day-to-day duties between certificate renewals — escape routes, common parts, waste — see HMO management.
Getting started
If you know what's due, send the address and the certificates you need and we'll price the visit. If you don't, send the address anyway: we'll audit what exists, what's expired and what your council's licence conditions require, and come back with a single quote to bring the property fully up to date. Either way, start with the quote form or a WhatsApp message — replies usually the same working day.
Common questions
It depends on the size of the property, the number of appliances and circuits, and which certificates you need — booking several together at one address usually works out better than booking them separately. Send the address and a list of what's due via the quote form and we'll reply with a fixed quote, usually the same working day.
Typically: an annual gas safety record (CP12) if there's gas, an EICR at least every five years, an EPC rated E or better, a fire risk assessment kept under review, fire alarm and emergency lighting certificates where systems are fitted, and PAT testing for landlord-supplied appliances. Your licence conditions may add to this list — we work from your council's exact requirements.
Where an EICR identifies remedial work (typically C1, C2 or FI codes), HMO licensing requires the report to be provided to the local authority and the defects to be completed within 28 days. We schedule the remedial work at the same time as the inspection wherever possible, so the clock never becomes a problem.
Electrical appliances supplied by the landlord must be safe, and most licence conditions expect periodic PAT testing as the evidence of that. Annual testing of supplied appliances — kettles, fridges, microwaves, supplied white goods — is the norm councils look for, and the certificate slots into your licence file.
Every certificate across every property is logged with its expiry date, and we contact you to book the renewal before it's due — aligning visits at the same address where possible so one appointment covers several certificates. Nothing depends on you remembering a date.
Tell us the property type and postcode — we'll come back with a fixed quote and the earliest available date.