hmo licensing Archives - Page 2 of 6 -

Marketing May 15, 2019 No Comments

Thousands of HMO landlords still operate without licences and provide poor living conditions

Many UK renters are living in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO), which, under current regulations, are properties rented out to three or more people forming at least two separate households, where tenants share basic amenities such as a kitchen or a bathroom. Any HMO that houses more than five people forming two or more separate households requires the landlord to apply for a licence to the local council, at an average cost of £600.

Students and the increasing number of people sharing flats with friends will be familiar with the common problems associated with living in an HMO. Most commonly, HMO landlords can be slow to make repairs, and the overall quality of the housing is more likely to be substandard.

Under current regulations, HMO landlords have to provide adequate fire escapes, gas and electrical safety, and minimum bedroom sizes; however, when it comes to the actual quality of the housing, there are no standards that can be enforced. In the worst cases, large-scale HMO housing has been found to contain damp and mould, kitchens in a state of disrepair, and vermin. These problems especially affect HMOs that have been converted from guest houses, as a 2015 BBC exposé demonstrated.

Moreover, thousands of landlords across the country are still avoiding licensing, putting their tenants at risk. In a landmark court case earlier this year, five Leeds flatmates took their landlord to court for failing to comply with licensing regulations, winning back all of their rent.

It may be that a more transparent and uniform landlord licensing scheme in which the money is reinvested into property maintenance could improve tenants’ living conditions – and increase landlord compliance.

‘Effective enforcement of rental sector standards is one of the biggest problems facing the lettings industry,’ says Neil Cobbold, chief operating officer of automated rental payment company PayProp.

‘Landlords might be happier to pay for these licences if they know the money is going to be used to raise PRS standards and identify rogue operators. Licensing schemes are sometimes criticised for being “revenue raisers” for local councils,’ adds Cobbold.

‘However, if authorities are more open about where the money is going and more focused on reinvesting it into housing, licensing schemes could be more effective with higher rates of compliance.’

Source: Real Homes

Marketing April 17, 2019 No Comments

Landlords warned to prepare for new HMO rules

FROM April 1, the licensing laws for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in Northern Ireland have changed.

Mandatory HMO licensing is being extended because of concerns about the number of HMOs operated by landlords who rent out sub-standard, overcrowded and dangerous accommodation, exploit vulnerable tenants and in some cases defraud the public purse.

A house in multiple occupation is a single property in which multiple households live and share basic amenities. A typical HMO may have a kitchen and/or bathroom shared between two or more rented households. These laws do not apply to rented flats or apartments with separate facilities.

According to figures obtained by the BBC, there are over 6,000 HMOs in Northern Ireland, with more than 4,000 based in Belfast.

Under the new scheme, all HMOs in Northern Ireland must hold a valid licence and landlords without licences or found to be in breach of the conditions of their licence, risk significant fines of up to £20,000 and/or prosecution.

HMOs previously been registered with the NI Housing Executive, which still benefit from valid unexpired licences, will automatically transfer to the new local council scheme. HMO licenses are valid for a period of five years and must be renewed periodically.

The licensing of all HMOs in Northern Ireland is now managed by the relevant local council. The ultimate purpose of the new legislation is to ensure that the accommodation is safe for the tenants and surrounding neighbours.

Under the legislation, landlords must have an anti-social behaviour plan in place and keep a record of instances of anti-social behaviour and what actions have been taken by the landlord to deal with the situation. Landlords will be provided with a guide from the Council, advising them on how to tackle these issues.

The legislation also requires HMOs to adhere to certain health and safety standards. The property must benefit from valid up to date safety and maintenance certificates for all relevant appliances.

From April 15, tenants of HMOs will be able to contact their local council to check if the property they reside in is registered as a HMO. Under the legislation, the tenant can report their landlord to their local council if the tenant suspects that there is not a valid licence in place or if the conditions of the licence are being breached.

The local council has the power to impose certain conditions on licenses and revoke HMO licenses if conditions are not being met.

The rules could have a major impact on city landlords who rent out premises to students and the growing number of professionals who share houses and flats.

By Oonagh Murdock

Source: Irish News

Marketing March 21, 2019 No Comments

Landlords warned of £30k licensing fines

Landlords who run houses of multiple occupation without a licence could now be fined up to £30,000.

Marketing March 12, 2019 No Comments

Glasgow to introduce stricter licensing conditions to curb impact of HMOs

Landlords in Glasgow are facing stricter new conditions on how they operate their property as part of an effort to curb the impact that houses of multiple occupancy (HMO) can have on communities.

The conditions, which cover cleansing issues, repairs to common property and dealing with neighbour complaints, will come into effect following a review of HMO licensing by Glasgow City Council’s licensing and regulatory committee.

The review identified many concerns linked to the presence of HMOs in neighbourhoods across the city, particularly where there are high concentrations of this type of rental property.

High levels of refuse from HMOs being left in back courts and lanes is a common complaint with a surge in bulk waste being dumped at the end of the academic year also being raised as a recurring problem. Public consultation feedback also focused on difficulties with securing support from HMO landlords for repairs and maintenance to common parts of flatted property. How to deal with noise and other anti-social behaviour was also flagged as a source of on-going disputes.

While it was found there is no legal basis for a cap on the number of HMO licences issued within Glasgow, the review reiterated that the purpose of HMO licensing is to protect public safety. The review conclude that better management of HMOs was a practical way forward.

Councillor Alex Wilson, chair of the licensing and regulatory committee, said that striking a balance between the needs of neighbourhoods, residents, HMO tenants and landlords was essential.

Councillor Wilson said: “It is clear there is a strong depth of feeling about how HMOs operate in the city. There is a range of issues that are regularly brought before members of the committee and we know that the way HMOs are sometimes managed cause real problems to other residents.

“But the public safety purpose of the HMO system should not be put to one side. HMOs provide homes of a reliable standard for people who cannot otherwise afford to live independently and that’s a system we support.

“The advice we have received means there is not a legally defensible way to limit how many HMOs there in Glasgow as there is a continuing need for kind of accommodation. So focusing on what really bothers people about the way property is managed is the way to deal with this.

“Indiscriminate dumping of rubbish, refusing to pull your weight with the cost of repairs, failing to get a grip with noisy or anti-social tenants – these are the issues that upset other residents. By creating conditions of licence that focus on the issues of concern we are setting out very clearly the standards we expect of our HMO landlords. The conditions will help to ensure we can take a more robust approach with licence holders who do not meet expected standards.”

The new conditions for HMOs will cover: general refuse; maintenance, insurance and repairs of common areas; bulk refuse; neighbouring residents and statutory notices. All of these conditions will be incorporated into a new code of conduct, which will apply to all HMO licence holders.

As part of the new conditions, a pilot project will be operated through the cleansing service provided by the council’s Neighbourhoods and Sustainability department. The pilot will involve landlords notifying the council in advance of flats being cleared of items at the beginning or end or the academic year to ensure bulk waste is reported for collection.

The review also found that it would not be appropriate to use planning policy objectives to limit HMO residences to over-ride a licensing system intended to protect public safety.

Source: Scottish Housing News

Marketing February 23, 2019 No Comments

Landlord convicted of unlawfully evicting tenant now fined for running unlicensed HMO in Telford

A landlord from Telford who had previously been convicted of unlawfully evicting a tenant has now been fined for running an unlicensed house in multiple occupation.

Marketing January 13, 2019 No Comments

HMO licence granted despite complaints of students throwing faeces out window

Councillors have renewed a House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) licence despite a neighbour complaining about students throwing human faeces out of a window.

The city council’s licensing sub-committee agreed to grant Arden Property Management a renewed licence for a property in Thirlestane Road, but only for an extra six months, after neighbour Charles Stokes spoke out – claiming the company were “not a fit and proper organisation to hold a licence”.

Mr Stokes, who lives below the flat in question, claimed Arden were “falling short of their statutory obligations”.

The neighbour told councillors there were instances of tenants smoking, a failure to display licensing notices properly and students throwing “human waste, faeces, out of the window” – as well as noise complaints.

He added: “We feel ignored, we feel patronised and we feel our objections are not taken seriously.

Their selection and management of tenants is poor and this has led to incidents of anti-social behaviour as recently as October 2018.

“Arden staff do not treat neighbours with respect. If Arden chose good tenants it’s fine, if they don’t it is ghastly.”

Mr Stokes also hit out at the company’s “chaotic financial systems” after claiming neighbours were still waiting for payments for shared repairs from August last year.

The current tenants have lived at the property since June 2017 and police were called on 13 September 2017 and 19 March 2018 to reports of antisocial behaviour.

Cllr Scott Arthur quizzed the company as to why the students were allowed to remain in the property. He said: “I see this as quite a serious situation. Given that the police attended the property twice, you still decided to renew that tenure.”

Michael McDougall of TLT Solicitors, representing Arden, said the allegations of human excrement being thrown from a window were not reported to the company at the time.

He added: “There have been two or three complaints about noise. We found the incidents did not require tenancies to be terminated. Arden are working hard to deal with concerns expressed by objectors. Any complaints made are always taken seriously and investigated.”

Councillors were torn over whether to believe the neighbour or the company’s side of the story. Regulatory convener, Cllr Catherine Fullerton, called for the application to be granted for one year.

She said: “There’s only been one recorded incident to the police last year. People cannot make no noise at all but they should not be making noise that causes other residents problems. “Having heard what the agent has said, I’m confident the agent is taking this seriously and putting in place steps to mitigate this in the future.”

But Cllr Neil Ross urged the application to be turned down as there were “a number of doubts cast” over the suitability of the company to manage the property. Cllr Cameron Rose proposed that the application was approved for just six months, which the committee backed.

He said: “I do not accept everything Mr Stokes has said. We have a number of areas where there are direct contradictions on the emergency number and the repairs. We have heard that the applicant is willing to look at getting a new agent. I think there’s enough doubt here to grant this application but for a very restrictive period.”

Source: Edinburgh News

Marketing December 8, 2018 No Comments

Local authorities still unsure how many HMOs should be licensed under new rules

New analysis claims to highlight how unprepared local councils are for the extra regulations on HMO licensing.

A freedom of information request by Simple Landlords Insurance to 90 local authorities found that 65 (72%) had no idea how many unlicensed HMOs there may be in their area, while 29 (32%) had no idea how many properties should come in under the new regulatory scheme.

Since October 1, the old HMO rules changed, and now apply to properties of any height where there are five or more sharers in two or more households.

Previously, only properties of three storeys or more were covered.

The research also found 31 (34%) councils out of the 90 had not prosecuted any landlords for infractions of existing rules in the past two years.

There were only 103 HMO licences rejected at application over the past 12 months, with a total of 18,881 licenses granted.

It echoes similar data from property investment firm Touchstone that found only a minority of local councils had an idea of how many properties would need to be licensed under the new rules.

Housing minister Heather Wheeler said at the time of the changes in October that the new rules would increase the number of mandatory HMO licensed properties in England from 60,000 to an estimated 220,000 properties.

However, Richard Truman, head of operations at Simple Landlords Insurance, said this research shows local authorities are hamstrung in their efforts to apply the new legislation, due to a combination of poor intelligence about housing stock and stretched resources.

He said: “Earlier this year, we found that 85% of landlords we spoke to weren’t aware of the looming HMO regulations. A month on from their implementation, we wanted to find out exactly what those landlords are facing on the ground.

“The changes may be well-meaning, but a failure to support local authorities to communicate about them and enforce them is bad news – for good landlords and for tenants.”

Source: Property Industry Eye

Marketing December 7, 2018 No Comments

Is the government’s HMO legislation failing?

New figures obtained by Simple Landlords Insurance appear to show that government plans to protect tenants from poor living conditions through the expansion of mandatory HMO licensing look set to fall way short of their ambition.

According to the data, the majority of local authorities don’t know how many unlicensed HMOs are in their area – let alone where they are – leaving them ill-equipped to seek those who break the rules or take advantage of new enforcement powers.

The findings reveal that the rules are “practically unenforceable”, according to one HMO licensing expert, with the government’s recent commitment of £2m of additional funding to help implement the scheme unlikely to have any real impact.

The freedom of information requests returned by 90 local authorities have shown that two thirds (65/90) of local authorities have no idea how many landlords are breaking HMO licensing rules, nearly one third (29/90) have no idea how many properties should come in under the new regulatory scheme and over a third (31/90) did not prosecute any landlords for infractions of existing rules in the last two years.

There were only 103 HMO licences rejected at application over the last 12 months, versus a total of 18,881 licenses granted.

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) containing five or more people in two or more households with shared facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom or toilet must be licensed.

To gain a license, landlords must now pass a ‘fit and proper’ test as well as providing proof of compliance with fire safety regulations and provide tenants with a written statement of the terms of their occupancy. The rules were widened on 1 October, removing a minimum three storeys high requirement whilst new conditions on minimum room size and waste collection were imposed.

The known unknowns

The government’s Housing Minister Heather Wheeler MP claimed the new rules would increase the number of mandatory HMO licenced properties in England from 60,000 to an estimated 220,000 properties.

However, this new research shows local authorities are hamstrung in their efforts to apply the new legislation – due to a combination of poor intelligence about housing stock and stretched resources.

Carl Agar, founder of The Home Safe Scheme and managing director of property management company Big Red House, says: “It’s a big worry that local authorities don’t seem to have the resources available to manage this new workload. And the new rules are going to be practically impossible to enforce. The government is essentially relying on honest landlords coming forward to apply for a licence – leaving the so-called rogue or down-right criminal landlords that really need to be identified – out of scope. The £2m promised support is literally a drop in the ocean.”

Cities overwhelmed

Amongst the local authorities that have the intelligence and data to make a prediction about how many more HMOs would need a license, cities unsurprisingly show a major hike.

Liverpool City Council had 1,195 HMOs with a mandatory license before 1 October, and expects that 5,000 will require licensing. Birmingham expects numbers to swell from 1,853 to 4,000 and Southampton expects the numbers will increase from 551 to 2500.

Many London boroughs had no idea at all how many additional HMOs would come under scope, whilst those that did are expecting a huge jump – in Greenwich from 147 to 3,250 HMOs under scope.

66% of the local authorities who responded were able to estimate how many HMOs were likely to require a mandatory license from 1 October, and the average increase recorded was 227%.

Carl adds: “Many local authorities are now faced with at least twice as many licences to process and check with the same amount of human resource – leaving even less time for enforcement. The major conurbations will be swamped.”

Mystery housing stock

Environmental Health Officer and Chair of the National HMO Network Paul Fitzgerald, explains: “Most local authorities simply do not fully understand the housing stock in their area, and they are kidding themselves if they claim that they do.

Trying to identify an HMO from scratch is an incredibly challenging job, made harder by the failure to join up systems like council tax and benefits registers, and immigration databases. Those who are determined to break the law do not apply for a licence in the first place.

Once they have been identified, dealing with criminal HMO landlords will be yet another problem. Pursuing a prosecution – or applying for a banning order – takes time, stretches resources and is not guaranteed. Many local authorities will opt for issuing fines, but there’s no guarantee that these will be paid without going to court, and that’s another resource and cost-heavy process.”

The bottom line” sums up Carl Agar “is that the Housing Act, in its current form, is no longer fit for purpose and the government need to prioritise helping local authorities know who is renting property in their areas and what type of properties are being let. A central government funded national register would be a major step forward.”

Richard Truman, Head of Operations at Simple Landlords Insurance commented: “Earlier this year, we found that 85% of landlords we spoke to weren’t aware of the looming HMO regulations. A month on from their implementation, we wanted to find out exactly what those landlords are facing on the ground.

The changes may be well-meaning, but a failure to support local authorities to communicate about them and enforce them is bad news – for good landlords and for tenants.

We want to see the emerging class of professional landlords supported by central government and local authorities, and that can clearly only be achieved with more effective regulation and resource.”

Source: Property Reporter

Marketing November 5, 2018 No Comments

Advisers urged to help landlords with HMO licencing changes

Advisers need to help landlords who may be receiving letters from lenders about their mortgages due to HMO licencing changes, two lenders urged at FSE Midlands in Coventry today.

The changes are thought to mean 177,000 properties now require a HMO license.

David Whittaker (pictured), managing director of Keystone Property Finance, and Adrian Moloney, sales director at OneSavings Bank, highlighted how some landlords are already receiving letters from their buy-to-let lenders regarding properties which may now require a license.

Whittaker said: “Landlords are punch-drunk from the regulatory changes of the last few years.

“This is the law of unintended consequences in full effect and you would expect some common sense from lenders.

“Lenders should say that, as long as there are no changes to the property or that the landlord doesn’t want a further advance, that they can keep the loan.”

Before the Budget there was a suggestion that landlords might be able to get capital gains tax relief if they sold their properties to long-standing tenants.

Both Whittaker and Moloney were not surprised that this didn’t happen.

Whittaker said: “It was never going to fly. Anything that would line the pockets of landlords is not going to happen.

“HMRC and the Chancellor see the landlord community as a group that traditionally hasn’t paid its wedge.

“Landlords do not draw any empathy in the corridors of Whitehall.”

Moloney said: “If your investment is good why would you get rid of it?

“Sales of property investments have not been really picked up in the main by first-time buyers anyway, they’ve been picked up by other landlords.”

Source: Mortgage Introducer

Marketing October 11, 2018 No Comments

Agents and landlords ‘could be in trouble’ as most councils fail to understand new HMO rules

A series of Freedom of Information requests has found that only a minority of local authorities have established the number of properties that need to be licensed under new HMO rules.

Even fewer councils – only a tiny handful – know whether the properties would meet licensing conditions, for example, as to fire safety and new minimum room size requirements.

As a result, thousands of HMOs could be illegal, exposing landlords and agents to fines and other penalties, and inability to serve Section 21 notices.

Tenants meanwhile could face losing their homes.

From October 1, the old HMO rules changed, and now apply to properties of any height where there are five or more sharers in two or more households.

Previously, only properties of three storeys or more were covered.

A 2008 Government report estimated there were 56,000 HMOs licensed under the old regime.

These will automatically be passported over to the new arrangements, but the Government estimates a total of 160,000 properties could be covered by the new regulations and has given local authorities up to three years to identify them.

Research carried out by Doncaster-based property investment firm Touchstone suggests that many councils will need all of this time, while meanwhile a large number of HMOs are illegal.

The research has apparently revealed massive gaps in local authorities’ knowledge of where these properties are and who owns them.

Most, it is claimed, are relying on landlords to submit licence applications.

Of the 238 authorities that responded to a Freedom of Information request, sent at the start of September, asking how prepared they were for the changes, 93 said they had carried out research to establish how many properties in their area require an HMO licence.

However, only 14 had conducted research to establish how many of those properties were in a condition where they could expect to be granted an HMO licence.

Touchstone CEO Paul Smith said that the Government had passed legislation without any clear idea as to the sale of the issue.

He said: “We’re aware of one local authority with 1,800 properties classed as HMOs and privately it told us that only around 40% will meet the [HMO standards required in] the new regulations.

“If that’s happening across the country, we could be looking at a major problem.
“Ministers have estimated 160,000 properties could be affected but I would be interested to know how they arrived at that figure as most local authorities have not conducted any research.”

Responses to the Freedom of Information requests showed that while Manchester City Council estimated it now has 5,000 HMO properties, it hasn’t researched how many will meet licensing standards.

North Somerset Council said it had 2,940 properties affected, Peterborough and Bournemouth put their numbers at up to 2,500 while Cambridge, York and Hull city councils estimated they had more than 1,000 HMOs.

None was able to say how many were currently operating illegally.

Leeds, Bristol, and Norwich were among the majority of authorities which said they had not carried out any research to establish how many properties in their area might be affected or how many might pass or fail.

Richard Lambert, CEO of the National Landlords Association, had already said that landlords enquiring about licences were being given wrong answers by local councils which appeared to know nothing of the changes.

He now says: “This is an unacceptable failing on the part of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

“We‘re also concerned that local authorities appear unprepared for the changes and have, anecdotally, heard that landlords may be being given advice which could put them at risk of breaking the law.

“Our advice to all landlords is to check if your property falls under the new regulations, and if your local authority does not yet have a process in place, make sure you apply using the existing mandatory HMO licensing scheme and receive an acknowledgement of your application.”