Local HMO compliance enquiry route
HMO Certificate Enquiries in Kensington and Chelsea
Build a Kensington and Chelsea HMO file from the people living there and the precise accommodation to which the application relates. The Royal Borough's additional-licensing designation applies throughout the borough between 1 June 2023 and 31 May 2028, unless ended sooner. Within the legal tests and exemptions, it brings privately rented shared accommodation into licensing when at least three residents belong to more than one household and share facilities. Mandatory licensing is normally the route once a qualifying HMO houses five residents, but RBKC tells applicants to select additional licensing for a multiply occupied purpose-built flat in a block of more than two self-contained flats. Certain converted buildings within section 257 are outside the designation; a separately occupied flat may nevertheless require its own section 254 assessment. Send the complete address, exact dwelling, resident and household schedule, letting basis, communal amenities, room measurements, current plan, people responsible for the premises, safety records, entry arrangements and required date. This prevents a report for one flat being mistaken for evidence about the whole block.
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Confirm the occupied unit, licence route and managed access before booking
A flat share inside a mansion block, a townhouse divided into bedsits and a whole building converted into self-contained flats can produce different licensing and evidence questions. Record the occupation and ownership boundary first so each report relates to the premises for which it is being requested.
Residents, households and letting basis
List every current and proposed occupier, identify couples, families or other people who form one household and state which rooms they occupy. Explain whether the property is let on one joint tenancy, separate room agreements, licences, staff arrangements or with a resident landlord. The number of tenancy documents does not replace the statutory household and sharing tests.
House, mansion flat or converted block
Describe whether the premises is an undivided house, maisonette, purpose-built or mansion flat, individual bedsits, rooms over business premises, one flat created by conversion or the complete subdivided building. Record the block name, doorway, storey and unit number. Section 254 and section 257 questions depend on construction and present occupation, not the description used in an advert.
Rooms, amenities and safety equipment
Measure every bedroom and communal room in square metres, note reduced head height and identify the intended occupant of each sleeping room. List kitchens, cooking facilities, bathrooms, WCs, washbasins, heating and fire-safety equipment. RBKC applies local standards flexibly to the whole usable space, but the council decides suitability and occupation limits.
Owner, manager, freeholder and access
Name the intended licence holder alongside the owner, leaseholder, superior landlord, block agent, lender and person who receives rent. Explain who can authorise each part of the visit. Confirm resident notice, key collection, porter or concierge booking and entry to bedrooms, shared stairs, meters, distribution boards, alarm panels, risers, service cupboards and the final way out.
Kensington and Chelsea enquiries often cross a private-flat and managed-building boundary
North Kensington, Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove, Earl's Court and the streets around Golborne Road include converted terraces, mansion flats, purpose-built blocks, bedsits and homes above shops or restaurants. Record whether the application concerns one shared flat, several non-self-contained lettings or an entire converted property. Give the correct entrance and unit number, because postal addresses can conceal separate staircases, rear access or commercial accommodation that is outside the domestic inspection scope.
Kensington, South Kensington, Chelsea, Brompton and Holland Park include portered blocks, larger townhouses, basement or lower-ground accommodation and properties subject to lease, heritage or address-specific planning controls. Establish whether the leaseholder is responsible only for the home while communal detection, escape lighting, intake rooms or plant remain with a superior landlord or managing company. Agree contractor registration, lift protection, loading restrictions, resident notice and narrow service access in advance. A property licence is not permission for structural work or a substitute for planning, heritage, building-control, freeholder or lease approval.
Match every certificate and supporting record to the exact HMO
RBKC asks applicants to prepare property, room, facility, ownership and safety information before starting the online form. Each report should carry the same address and unit, cover the relevant installation or system and include any completed remedial evidence rather than being treated as one general HMO certificate.
Gas safety record for the dwelling
For premises supplied with gas, obtain a valid landlord record bearing the correct unit address. Give the engineer a schedule of boilers, cooking equipment, fires, water heaters and accessible flues. Treat a block heating system or restaurant installation controlled elsewhere as a separate scope. RBKC includes the current gas record in its application list and makes annual gas evidence a licence condition.
Complete fixed-electrical report
Use the full current EICR, including every observation, test schedule and circuit detail, and retain dated proof that required follow-up has been finished. Define whether the inspection ends at the shared flat or includes landlord wiring through circulation and service spaces. Evidence for the tenant's installation does not automatically cover freeholder-controlled communal supplies.
Fire alarm and emergency-lighting evidence
RBKC asks for current fire-alarm and emergency-lighting test certificates where they apply. Map the route from each letting room to the final exit, including fire doors, detection, audibility and shared equipment. Keep the alarm visit, escape-lighting test, management checks, risk assessment and repairs as separately dated records whose boundaries can be understood.
Floor plan, agreements and management file
Draw a legible plan naming and measuring every room and marking facilities, stairs and exits. Supply the relevant occupancy agreements and details of those with a legal or financial interest in the property. Before filing, compare the documents with any later subdivision, moved kitchen, lower-ground sleeping room or entrance change.
Which RBKC licensing scheme applies to this dwelling?
RBKC's additional designation covers the entire borough for the five years beginning 1 June 2023, unless the council ends it sooner. In broad terms, section 254 shared accommodation with three residents across more than one household is included when mandatory licensing does not apply. Buildings within section 257 are left out. The council also explains a specific exception: a multiply occupied purpose-built flat in a block containing over two flats is assigned to additional rather than mandatory licensing.
For an online application, RBKC expects a dimensioned floor plan, information about amenities, construction and protective equipment, details of people and organisations with an interest in the property, plus the applicable electrical, gas, fire-alarm and emergency-lighting records. Its local standards address washing and cooking facilities, fire precautions, warmth and living space; the council retains the decision on suitable occupancy. Planning is a different process. RBKC's Article 4 page describes borough-wide basement controls alongside selected commercial-to-home and site-specific directions, so check the live map and the property's planning record for proposed work. LLC organises inspection enquiries and does not decide licence, planning, building-control, lease or heritage matters.
Build the Kensington and Chelsea application file in the right order
1. Establish the property category
Work from resident numbers, household relationships and facilities used in common. Decide whether the address contains a section 254 share, five-person mandatory HMO, purpose-built flat assigned to the additional route or a section 257 conversion outside the designation. Refer an uncertain legal category to the council before choosing an application.
2. Prepare the council and safety information
Gather the floor plan and room sizes, kitchens and bathrooms, property structure, installed safety equipment, interested-party details and the current EICR, gas, fire-alarm and emergency-lighting evidence applicable to the premises. Check that names, dates, unit references and occupation figures agree across every document.
3. Resolve permissions, defects and access
Check the planning and building-control history for the actual use and any physical alterations; use RBKC's address-specific Article 4 information where relevant. Complete or document remedial work recorded on existing reports, then arrange resident and building-manager access to all included rooms, common systems and final exits before the appointment.
Practical HMO certificate questions for Kensington and Chelsea properties
Is there one HMO certificate for a Kensington and Chelsea property?
No. The council property licence, gas safety record, EICR, fire-alarm and emergency-lighting evidence, floor plan, agreements and planning or building-control decisions remain separate. The required combination depends on the exact property and council request.
Which Kensington and Chelsea HMOs need an additional licence?
Subject to the statutory tests and exclusions, the borough-wide scheme covers privately rented HMOs occupied by three or more people forming two or more households who share facilities and are not within mandatory licensing. The designation runs from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2028 unless revoked earlier.
When does mandatory HMO licensing apply in Kensington and Chelsea?
A qualifying HMO with five or more occupiers forming two or more households normally requires a mandatory licence. RBKC states that a multiply occupied purpose-built flat in a block containing more than two self-contained flats falls outside mandatory licensing and should use the additional licence route instead.
Does Kensington and Chelsea license section 257 converted blocks?
The 2023 additional licensing designation excludes HMOs defined under section 257, which concerns certain buildings converted into self-contained flats. An individual flat inside a purpose-built or converted block can still meet the section 254 HMO test, so identify the exact dwelling and occupation before deciding that no licence is needed.
What should be ready before a Kensington and Chelsea HMO application?
Prepare interested-party names and addresses, the proposed licence holder's details, a floor plan with room sizes, bathrooms, WCs and kitchens, property structure and safety equipment, current EICR, gas safety, fire-alarm and emergency-lighting certificates where applicable, access arrangements and payment details.
Need to organise a Kensington and Chelsea HMO evidence pack?
Send the full borough address and exact unit, the people living there and how they are related, letting arrangement, facilities used in common, room measurements, expected licence route, current plan, applicable gas, electrical, fire-alarm and emergency-lighting records, repair evidence, ownership and management contacts, alteration history, porter or key instructions, access to shared systems and due date. We can then identify the appropriate inspection route without presenting LLC as the authority for licensing, occupancy, planning, heritage or building-control decisions.