Rented dwellings licensing toolkit

​​​About rented properties licences​

From 1 May 2024 all landlords need to have a Renting Dwellings Licence for each unit of residential property they rent.

From 1 August 2024, it will be an offence for a landlord to rent without a licence. We may need to inspect your property be​fore granting you a licence.

Licences will be attached to the property itself. This means that if the property is sold or the property is inherited, the licence will transfer to the new owner. You must notify us within 28 days of a change of owner.

Public Health and Safety (Rented Dwellings) (Licensing) (Jersey) Regulations 2023

​Environmental and Consumer Protection Privacy Policy (Food & Public Health and Housing & Nuisance)

Homes that require a lice​​nce

Your residential property will be considered a rented dwelling and require licensing if ​it is occupied:

• for more than 30 days a year (which does not have to be continuous)
• in return for any reward (which need not be money)
  
• or in connection with any employment
  
• as the owner and occupier of a dwelling and have more than 2 lodgers
  

This will include, but is not limited to:

• staff accommodation
• agricultural worker accommodation
• private rental properties
• social housing rental properties
• when you have three or more lodgers in your home
• if you rent a property to a family member and accept rent or a service in return
• if you have an annex attached to your property that has its own cooking and bathing facilities
  
• short let/holiday let or airBnB accommodation. If the dwelling is not registered as tourist accommodation which is required for any premises in which lodging for reward at any one time is provided for more than 5 persons
  

If you are not clear on whether you require a licence​, you can contact the department by calling +44 (0) 1534 445808 or email renteddwellings@gov.je.

Homes that ​​​don't need a licence

You do not need a licence if you:

• rent a lodging house 
• have a tourist accommodation
• nursing home or care home
• have up to two lodgers and are the owner and reside in the home
  
• do not receive a reward which ne​ed not be money
  

Applying for a licence and fee

A licence costs £60 and is valid for 2 years.​

You can apply for a licence online.​​

Apply for a Rented Dwellings Licence​

Applying for several licenc​es

If you have several properties to licence, a multiple property upload facility is now available. 

If you are interested in this process and to receive a copy of the application form please contact the department. 

​Telephone +44 (0) 1534 445808 or email rente​ddwellings@gov.je

Get help completing your licence application 

If you need help completing the online form, you can call +44 (0) 1534 445808 or email renteddwellings@gov.je.​

​​Licence refunds​

​​Landlords who have paid for a Rented Dwelling Licence, but held a 3, 4 or 5 star rating on the former Rent Safe scheme, can still apply for a refund before 30 November 2024.

The Rented Dwelling Licence Scheme launched in May this year. 

The Minister for the Environment, Deputy Steve Luce, pledged to not leave out of pocket those who had already achieved Rent Safe accreditation.

The refund scheme is for the full licence fee of £60, and applies only to these first licences. While the law did not allow for the original licence fee to be waived, a system was swiftly set up to provide refunds to eligible landlords on applicable properties. 

To apply for a refund, email renteddwellings@gov.je​. 

Your email must include copies of your Rented Dwellings Licence certificate for properties which were inspected under the Rent Safe scheme.​

Who can apply for a licence​

The following persons may apply for a licence: 

• the owner of the property 
• an agent may apply for the licence on your behalf (the owner’s details must be listed as the licence holder)
• one of the joint owners of a property 
• a company secretary where the property is held by a corporate entity
• the shareholder of a share transfer property
• a delegate having power of attorney or having been appointed as a delegate by the Royal Court over the affairs of the owner should enter their name and complete the application as "agent"​​​

Complying with licence conditions​​​

As a licence holder, you will need to comply with standard conditions in three areas:

1. meeting minimum safety standards and ensuring that any of the 29 hazards present in your rented dwelling are mitigated to an acceptable level
   
2. ​notification of changes
   
3. information provided to occupiers
   

Meeting mini​mum safety standards

To receive a licence, your rental property must meet minimum standards:

​​Electri​cal safety

An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) must be undertaken by a competent engineer. These inspections are valid for 5 years.

Competent engineers are those that are registered with:

• National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers (NAPIT)
• The National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC) 
• Building Research establishment (BRE)

All rented properties are required to have an EICR. If yours has not been completed, or the property is new to the rental market, you should organise for an EICR as soon as reasonably practicable.​​

A copy of your EICR must be provided to your tenant within 28 days or, if it’s a new tenant, at the start of their occupation.

Once you have your EICR, you do not need to complete a new EICR each change of tenancy, however, ​it is advisable to complete an interim checklist every year or when the tenancy changes.

Interim electrical safety ​checklist for landlords​

Gas saf​​​​ety

An annual gas safety inspection of your rented dwelling must be carried out by a person that is registered on the United Kingdom Gas Safe Register.

An inspection should be carried out where there is a gas supply even if a gas appliance is not connected or in use. An inspection will also be required where the supply has been capped within the property.​

Detection​​ ​of smoke

You must install a smoke detection alarm fulfilling the standard EN14604 on each storey. Whether or not a storey includes any habitable room.

We would also recommend that interlinking smoke alarms are installed in each room to allow for the earliest possible warning.

You must also install a carbon monoxide detection alarm fulfilling the standard EN 50291 in each habitable room where there is a facility for the combustion of:

• oil
• gas
• wood
• coal
• any similar fossil fuel or any derivative products of any of these fuels​

All alarms must be kept in full working order. If the alarm is battery powered, it must be operational at the start of every rental period. You can find alarm standards on the packaging of the device.

Prescribed hazards

You can find guidance on the Public Health and Safety (Rented Dwellings - Minimum Standards and Prescribed Hazards) (Jersey) Order 2018 in the following documents, which include details of the 29 prescribed hazards and preventative measures.

You are also required to act if your property has any of the 29 hazards beyond an acceptable level.

Rented Dwellings Licensing Scheme Code of Practice

Rented Dwellings Licensing Scheme Summary of Guidance

​Rented Dwellings Licensing Scheme Guidance - Polish

​Rented Dwellings Licensing Scheme Guidance - Portuguese

​Rented Dwellings Licensing Scheme Guidance - Romanian

​Notific​​ation of​ change​​​s​

​You must notify us within 28 days if you:

• change address, phone number or email
• appointed a person or company to act on your behalf and they change their address, phone or email
• change the emergency contact number you provided your tenants
• stop renting a property registered as a rented dwelling
• change of owner of the rented dwelling

To tell us about a change by email renteddwellings@gov.je or calling +44 (0) 1534 445808.

​Information t​o provide to oc​​​​cupiers

You must provide a copy of your licence and written information explaining how your tenants can raise a concern or complaint about their rented property within 28 days of the:

• start of your licence
• renewal of an existing tenancy agreement
• signing of a new tenancy agreement

You can provide this information in an electronic format or hard copy. This can be provided to your tenants in an email, a handbook or a notice displayed in a communal area.

The information you provide your tenants must include:

• a contact address and daytime phone number to be used to communicate their concern or complaint
• an out-of-hours telephone number to be used in an emergency
• how their concern or complaint will be dealt with
•  a statement on their rights to seek advice from, or raise a complaint with the Regulation Housing and Nuisance Team, together with our contact details​

If you make any material changes to the written information you have provided you must ensure that your tenants are advised of these within 28 days of the changes taking place.

You must communicate these changes in the same way as you communicated the original written information you provided.

You can use the following template to provide this information your tenants.

Tenants concerns and complaints form​

Tenancy agreement and condition report templates​

Tenancy ​​agreement

A residential tenancy agreement should be:

• in writing
• signed by or on behalf of the parties to the agreement
• use specific terms and conditions to be agreed between the parties

Residential tenancy agreement template

Residential Tenancy (Jersey) Law 2011

Condition report

You must provide your tenants with a condition report which must: 

• be in writing and may include images 
• record the physical condition and state of repair of each property when tenants move in and out
• be completed at start and end of each rental agreement  
• allow the tenant 7 days in which to review, amend or accept the report

You must provide this report even if you have not taken a deposit. 

Condition report template for tenants and landlords template​

Residential Tenancy (Condition Reports) (Jersey) Order 2014