Questions
What we are, what we do, what stays with you, and what it costs.
Are you part of Medway Council, or any council?
No. Licence Prep is an independent business, a trading name of DemandOS Ltd. We are not the council, we are not an official service and we are not affiliated with any council. The council has not approved or endorsed us.
Can I apply for a licence without using you?
Yes. Landlords and managing agents can apply directly to the council and pay only the council's fee. Medway Council's property licensing page explains its schemes. Our service is optional help with the preparation.
Is the council's fee included in your £299?
No. Our £299 is our own charge for preparing the application, and it is in addition to the council's licence fee. You pay the council's fee yourself, direct to the council, on your own card. In Medway the council's published fees are £840 for a selective licence and £1,600 for an additional HMO licence. The pricing page shows both fees side by side.
What do you actually do for £299?
For one property, we tell you what the council's form needs, gather it from you by email and upload, complete the council's application form from what you supplied, check your documents against the answers for consistency, raise written queries on anything missing or unclear, and hand the application over ready for you to check, declare and pay the council.
Who is the service for?
Letting agents and landlord companies, usually with several properties to license at once. We deal with businesses, in writing.
Who makes the declaration?
The proposed licence holder or the managing agent. The declaration is a legal statement that the information in the application is true, so the person making it must read the whole application, correct anything that is wrong and make the declaration themselves. We never make it for you and we never submit an application in your name without you.
Who answers the questions about convictions and past conduct?
The person making the declaration. We leave those questions for them to answer, and we ask you not to send us that kind of information.
What do we need to supply?
The measured floor plan, the certificates the council's form asks for, the property and letting information, details of the proposed licence holder and manager, and evidence for any council discount you want to claim. You are responsible for the accuracy of what you supply. We send a checklist for each property.
Do you visit or inspect the property?
No. We never visit, measure or inspect properties, and we do not produce floor plans or certificates. We work only from the documents and information you send.
What does the free portfolio check tell me?
Which of your properties appear to sit inside a ward covered by Medway's selective or additional HMO licensing schemes, based on the postcodes you send and the wards the council has published. It is a guide, not a ruling: the council's designation maps are definitive, and whether a property needs a licence also depends on how it is let and who lives there. You can look up a single postcode yourself with the council's ward lookup.
When can applications be made in Medway?
Medway Council says applications for selective and additional HMO licences can be made online from Monday 4 January 2027 and not before. Before then we can run your portfolio check and collect your documents. See the council's page on applying.
How do you hand the application over?
That depends on the council's online system, which is not open yet. If it lets a draft be prepared and then picked up by the applicant, we complete it there and you log in to check, declare and pay. If it does not, we give you a completed answer sheet that follows the form question by question, with the documents named and in order, for you to enter and submit. If we cannot prepare the application at all, we refund you in full.
What if you cannot prepare the application?
We refund the £299 for that property in full. That includes where the property turns out not to need a licence, and where the council's system does not allow us to prepare the application for you.
Will the council grant the licence?
That is the council's decision, made on the application, its own checks and any inspection. We cannot promise that a licence will be granted, how long it will run for or what conditions it will carry.
Is this legal advice?
No. We are not solicitors and nothing on this site or in our work is legal advice. If you need advice on whether a property needs a licence, on licence conditions or on enforcement, speak to the council or a solicitor.
Who is responsible for deadlines?
You are. We tell you when an application is ready and what is still outstanding, but applying to the council in time is the responsibility of the landlord or managing agent.
Do you handle our money or the council's fee?
No. The only payment we take is our own £299 per property. We never pay council fees for clients and never hold client money.
Do you cover councils other than Medway?
Medway is our first focus. If your properties are in another English council area, tell us where on the portfolio check form and we will say whether we can help.
What happens to the information we send?
We use it only to run your check, prepare your applications and keep our own business records. The privacy notice explains what we hold, why and for how long.