Chichester and Arun Landlord Accreditation Scheme

What is the Accreditation Scheme?

We work in partnership with Arun District Council to run a district-wide Landlord Accreditation Scheme. 

Accreditation is the recognition that a landlord has voluntarily complied with our scheme standards relating to the condition and management of their properties. To join the scheme landlords must be a 'fit and proper person', abide by our Code of Good Management and agree to accredit all their properties within the Chichester and Arun districts. 

The scheme is free of charge and landlords who join can enjoy a variety of benefits, including financial assistance towards the cost of bringing their properties up to the standard (Financial Assistance is only applicable to Chichester District Landlords)

Once the council has received your completed application form (and associated certificates) to join the scheme, the application will then be processed and validated. Following this an Environmental Health Officer from the Housing Standards Team will contact you to arrange an inspection of the property.

Benefits of joining the Accreditation Scheme

• Access to financial assistance to improve properties to the standards set out in the scheme (Chichester District Landlords only).
• The status of being publicly identified as a good landlord, including formal certification.
• The business advantage of advertising their accredited status to tenants who place emphasis on good quality and well managed accommodation.
• Ease of access to, and support from, Environmental Health Officers.

Scheme requirements

The following documents must be submitted (if applicable to your property) as part of your application for Accreditation:

• An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) dated within the last 5 years
• Current Gas Safety certificate(s) for all gas appliances, carried out by a Gas Safe Registered Engineer (if applicable)
• Oil Boiler annual certificate, carried out by a competent person, e.g. an OFTEC Technician (if applicable)
• Current registered Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
• Emergency Lighting Test report in accordance with BS5266 (if applicable)
• PAT(portable appliance test) report for all portable appliances supplied by the Landlord (if applicable)
• A4 sized sketch plan of the layout of each floor, indicating the address on the plan detailing the following:
  • Use of room e.g. kitchen 
  • Room number, if applicable 
  • Heat (HD) and smoke detectors (SD) fire blankets (FB) and any fire control panels and other fire precaution equipment 
  • Emergency lighting (EL) 
  • Fire doors (FD) 
  • Fire doors with self-closers (FD S/C) 
  • Thumb turn locks (TT) 
  • Emergency Egress Windows (EW) 
  • Approximate room size in square metres

The property will be assessed against a number of criteria including:

• external structure
• electrical
• oil and gas safety
• security
• cleanliness
• facilities
• heating
• room sizes
• decoration
• waste disposal
• fire safety, and
• energy efficiency

These are outlined in the Landlord Accreditation Scheme Standards available to view. Once accredited and to remain in the scheme you will need to renew your membership every five years.

How to submit an accreditation application

If you are Chichester District Landlord then please complete an application form using the link below. If you are within the Arun District please visit Arun District Councils website.

Please ensure that you have the required documents relating to your property before starting the application.

Apply for Landlord Accreditation

Landlord Accreditation Scheme Standards 2022 (PDF, 1 MB)

Complaints and Appeals Procedure (PDF, 125 KB)

List of Accredited Properties November 2024 (Word doc, 19 KB)

You can contact the council regarding the accreditation scheme by emailing accreditation@chichester.gov.uk.