The certificates are required by the Home Office and the British High Commission in the relevant country.
The application is made by the householder in the United Kingdom.
The certificate, if granted, shows that the property is considered to provide a safe and healthy environment for the occupants and that the property satisfies the overcrowding standard in the Housing Acts 1985 and 2004.
Application procedure
To arrange an inspection, contact us.
Accommodation certificate inspection
To obtain a certificate, an officer must inspect your property to assess its condition and suitability for occupation. It will be necessary to measure each room and assess any hazards that may be present. The room sizes will be used to calculate the maximum number of people able to live in the property, as a single household, therefore ensuring the property is not overcrowded.
If the property would become overcrowded as a result of someone moving in, you may have to find alternative accommodation for the people being sponsored.
Overcrowding standards
A property is considered overcrowded if either the room standard or the space standard is exceeded.
Room standard
There should be sufficient rooms in each individual property so that no male and female aged 10 or over should have to sleep in the same room, unless they are living together as husband and wife.
Space standard
This standard specifies the maximum number of people who can sleep in any room considered suitable for use as a sleeping room and the maximum number who may sleep in any individual property when taking into account the number of sleeping rooms available to the occupants.