Gold Standard Charter

How do you sign up to the Gold Standard Charter?

Applications to sign up to the Charter will be made online using this form. Following receipt of the application the landlord or managing agent will be asked to provide a list of all of their privately rented properties in Southwark indicating which properties are let as shared houses/HMOs.

Checks will be made to ensure they are ‘fit and proper’ persons to manage a privately rented property and they will also be asked to provide other documentation as evidence of their compliance with particular criteria.

Note: Fit and Proper test for the purposes of Gold Standard Charter membership is the same as the Fit and Proper test for licensing (see page 6 Licence  holder)

Once the applicant has passed all of the checks they will be sent confirmation that they are members of the Gold Standard Charter and added to the public register.

Where members have applied for a licence, additional checks will be made on their application specifically to ensure the property to be licensed complies with the appropriate Gold Standard Criteria.

Members who become ‘not fit and proper’ during their charter membership will have their membership cancelled and will be barred from applying to the scheme again until they have become fit and proper again (at the discretion of the council).

Annual checks will be carried out to ensure scheme members are still complying with the Gold Standard Charter Criteria.

Membership is for five years and members will need to re-apply online to renew their membership for a further five years and the council will make the appropriate checks to ensure they are continuing to comply with the Gold Standard Charter Criteria.

Accreditation

Gold Standard Charter members must be signed up to a recognised accreditation scheme.

Example of acceptable schemes include:

• London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS)
• Private Rented Sector Accreditation Scheme (PRSAS)
• National Landlords Association (NRLA)
• Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA)
• Private Rented Sector Accreditation Scheme (PRSAS)
• UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA)
• Safeagent
• British Landlord Association (BLA)

Accreditation schemes will only be accepted if:

• the landlord or managing agent can confirm that they are current valid members and
• the scheme includes an initial training session and a minimum amount of continuous professional development to remain a member

If membership to the Charter expires before the expiry of a licence, on which they have received a GSC discount, and they do not apply to renew their membership successfully within three months of the expiry of their membership, the council can recharge the discount given on any licence, on a pro-rata basis, for the time period of the licence that is not covered by the charter membership.

The Gold Standard Charter discount can be applied if the licence holder is not a Gold Standard Charter member but the managing agent of the property is. However, if the licence holder changes their managing agent for the property during the period of the licence they must ensure that the new managing agent is signed up to the Gold Standard Charter.  If the new managing agent is not signed up to the Gold Standard Charter, the licence holder will have to repay the discount, pro-rata, for the period left on the discounted license.

Discounts on licensing fees will not apply to properties where the council has issued a warning letter regarding an unlicensed licensable property. This also applies where a licence has expired for more than three months before a new application has been received.

The landlord or managing agent’s membership to the Gold Standard Charter will also be reviewed and may be cancelled.

Page last updated: 14 February 2024