Houses in
Multiple Occupation (HMO’S)
The Housing act 2004 has extended the
definition of a House in Multiple
Occupation (HMO) and introduced a National
Licensing Scheme for these properties.
This part of the Act came into force on
April 6th 2006. The new Act introduces a
National Licensing Scheme for HMOs of
three storeys or more occupied by five or
more tenants who make up two or more
separate households, however, there are
plans to reform HMO legislation with the
introduction of the new Housing Bill.
Section 2 of this Bill deals with
homelessness and housing. It is
understood that the change will effect
Landlords. The reason for this is
at present groups of people over 5 in a
shared house constitutes an HMO. But under
the new Bill any more than 2 unrelated
persons sharing a house or
flat will constitute an HMO. Each council
adopts different policies over the control
of HMO’s, currently Brent Council has
not updated there website so as they
confirm there views we will alter the
information on our website.
The following Information was
provided from the Department for
Communities and Local Government on 17th
July 2006
http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1151996
Q How do I know if I need a license?
A If you can answer
yes to the following questions you may
need a license:
- Do you rent out property?
- Does your property have three or more storeys
(including habitable attics or
basements)?
- Does your property have five or more unrelated
tenants?
- Any of your tenants unrelated to each other?
You
should check with the local authority
where your property is located as some
local authorities may also license smaller
HMOs.
Q Is
the license per landlord or per property?
A A separate license
is needed for each property. The
license holder and the person who manage
the property will have to be
considered ‘fit and proper’ for
the license to be granted. A license
may not relate to more than one property
and is not transferable to a different
property, or to a different person.
Q Is
the license for the owner or the manager
of the property?
A The landlord can
hold the license or nominate someone else
such as a manager or agent (with their
agreement) to be the license holder.
Whoever holds a license must be the person
who is most appropriate to hold the
license for the property and this is
likely to be the person who receives the
rent for the property. A license may
not relate to more than one property and
is not transferable.
Q Which council
department will be responsible for HMO
licensing?
A It will be
up to the individual local housing
authority to decide but, in most
instances, it will be the housing or
environmental health department that will
be responsible for HMO licensing.
Q Are
some councils providing grants to help
landlords comply with HMO regulations?
A Local housing
authorities may make some funding
available in certain circumstances to help
landlords carry out work on their
properties. You should contact the
local housing authority in which your
properties are situated directly to see if
this is available.
Q What
are the minimum standards set for HMOs?
A The Government has
specified minimum amenity standards,
setting out the requirements for kitchens,
bathrooms and toilets in an HMO.
Local housing authorities may use their
own amenity standards if they are equal to
or higher than the minimum
standards. You should contact the
local housing authority in which your
property is situated to find out the
standards you will have to meet.
If your property does not hold enough
amenities for the number of tenants the
local housing authority can either:
- grant a license with conditions that extra
amenities will be put in within a
specified timeframe
- grant a license for a smaller maximum number of
occupants based on the amenities which
are installed
- in properties with the worst conditions they may
decide not to grant a license at all
if they cannot be brought up to
required standards.
Q Will
I have to evict tenants to make sure that
my property is not housing more than the
license allows?
A Landlords
may not evict existing tenants to avoid
licensing or to comply with the maximum
number of occupants allowed in the
property It is considered reasonable that
the tenants were in occupation at the time
the license was granted and landlords will
not be penalised. However, when the
tenancy comes to an end, landlords or
agents will be committing an offence if
new tenants are allowed to move in
bringing the total occupants above the
maximum number permitted under the
license.
Q What
happens if I fail to register for a
license?
A Failure to apply
for a license is a criminal offence and
can result in a fine of up to £20,000.
Useful
Addresses
Slough Borough Council
Town Hall, Bath Road, Slough, Berkshire,
SL1 3UQ Tel:
01753 573366
London Borough of Hillingdon
|
PROPERTY GUIDE