Category Archives: HMO Updates

Lambeth Council HMO Properties new Licensing scheme

Lambeth Council HMO Properties new Licensing scheme

 

The London Borough of Lambeth will introduce a new HMO licensing scheme on December 9th after it finished its consultation for additional licensing of HMO properties.

The proposals gained the support of two-thirds of residents while 81% of landlords and agents were against them.

 

Why is the scheme being introduced?

The council’s reasons for the introduction of this latest HMO licensing scheme in the borough are to improve accommodation standards for tenants, routing out rogue landlords and illegal HMOs. 

Lambeth Council estimates that there are 5,000 HMO properties in the borough; this includes house and flat shares, bedsits (section 254 HMOs), and some buildings converted into flats (section 257 HMOs). Smaller houses and flatshares occupied by three more people that form more than one household will now require a licence.

The new scheme is particularly aimed at those landlords who rent out smaller HMOs who fail to ensure the correct property compliance and acceptable conditions for their tenants. Any landlords who do not comply with the Lambeth HMO licensing, will be faced with fines. The costs of HMO licensing a HMO property can vary from borough to borough.

 

How much is the HMO Licensing cost in Lambeth?

The new Lambeth HMO licensing scheme will see costs increase to £506 per bedroom or £2,024 for a four-bedroom HMO. Currently, Lambeth council charges an application fee of £289 per bedroom so property businesses will see a big increase in the cost of 75% per licence, and lead to the highest per bedroom fee in London.

 

Can I get fined?

Any person managing a property or persons in control, under the Housing Act 2004, could get up to £30,000 fine per offence. Tenants can claim back up to 12 months rent, under Rent Repayment Order, from landlords breaking rules so ensure you run a tight ship and get your paperwork in order ASAP.

If taking advice, ensure you use someone accredited to do so such as Environmental Health Officers, accredited by CIEH, with experience in local councils.

 

How can I check my property compliance?

The HMO Services Compliance checker will help you stay one step ahead of any changes like this and help with your property compliance, so you know how any licensing changes by your local council could affect you. Just enter your postcode 👍 to find out more.

 

What is a HMO?

To determine what is an HMO we need to start with what ‘HMO’ stands for ie. House in Multiple Occupancy or House of Multiple Occupation. The standard definition of a section 254 HMO is: 3 or more tenants, more than 1 household and shared facilities.

For Section 257 HMOs, the standard definition of a section 257 HMO refers to buildings that: 

have been converted into self-contained flats; 

the conversion did not comply with the relevant Building Regulations in force at that time and still does not comply; 

and less than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied.

 

How can I check my property compliance?

The HMO Services Compliance checker will help you stay one step ahead of any changes like this and help with your property compliance, so you know how any licensing changes by your local council could affect you. Just enter your postcode 👍 to find out more.

 

What is Property Licensing?

Property licensing is the Local Authority’s process of improving living standards in rental accommodation and proving that landlords are ‘fit and proper’ persons to operate these properties. The type of licence a property requires varies depending on a number of different factors, including the number of tenants and the council your property is located in.

 

Why is Property Licensing important?

It is important that you are aware of both the national and local authority regulations. The licensing rules are not consistent across every London borough, with each individual borough creating its own set of licensing rules. A professional licensing company should be instructed to guide you through the process. In short, the type of licence required will depend on the property itself, how it is tenanted and the borough that it is located in.

For more information about property licensing, download our guide or contact HMO Services on 020 3848 2200 / admin@hmoserviceslondon.com.

 

Work in the property business?

Do you work as a letting agent, mortgage consultants, investors or property/building manager? Then take a look at our sister company Yuno, who is ready to help you with any changes you must make.

Two new landlord licensing schemes in the London Borough of Islington

Two new licensing schemes now in operation in the London Borough of Islington

Islington Council launched two new landlord licensing schemes earlier this year with implications for HMO (houses in multiple occupation) properties. The North London council has introduced these schemes with the aim of making private renting more fair, improving living conditions, and to protect renters’ rights. Minimum standards for property management will be set by the council to cover the provision of kitchen and bathroom facilities, room sizes, health and safety (e.g. fire, gas, and electrical safety checks).

The Borough of Islington first announced these landlord licensing schemes just before the start of the pandemic in February last year, the first scheme operates borough-wide and covers HMOs. In research, they discovered that HMOs had some of the lowest housing standards in the London borough with many HMO conversions having little or non-existent fire safety measures. A HMO licensing pilot scheme carried out in Caledonian Road and Holloway Road areas of Islington was found to have improved standards and led to better HMO management.

The second is a selective licensing scheme for the Finsbury Park ward, which has some of the worst housing conditions for privately rented properties in the North London borough. Due to the high risk of tenants being exploited and taken advantage of by rogue landlords, Islington Council acted and are requiring landlords to obtain a license when they rent out a flat or house occupied by either a single household or two people sharing.

Cllr Diarmaid Ward, Executive Member for Housing and Development, commented:  “These new landlord licensing schemes will help protect private renters and also ensure that conscientious landlords are rewarded. There are a great many responsible landlords in the borough and schemes like this help to level the playing field.

As both schemes are active, Islington Council are reminding landlords to apply for a licence if they have not done so already. 

What is a HMO?

To determine what is an HMO we need to start with what ‘HMO’ stands for ie. House in Multiple Occupancy or House of Multiple Occupation. The standard definition of a section 254 HMO is: 3 or more tenants, more than 1 household and shared facilities.

For Section 257 HMOs, the standard definition of a section 257 HMO refers to buildings that: 

have been converted into self-contained flats; 

the conversion did not comply with the relevant Building Regulations in force at that time and still does not comply; 

and less than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied.

How can I check my property compliance?

The HMO Services Compliance checker will help you stay one step ahead of any changes like this and help with your property compliance, so you know how any licensing changes by your local council could affect you. Just enter your postcode 👍 to find out more.

What is Property Licensing?

Property licensing is the Local Authority’s process of improving living standards in rental accommodation and proving that landlords are ‘fit and proper’ persons to operate these properties. The type of licence a property requires varies depending on a number of different factors, including the number of tenants and the council your property is located in.

Why is Property Licensing important?

It is important that you are aware of both the national and local authority regulations. The licensing rules are not consistent across every London borough, with each individual borough creating its own set of licensing rules. A professional licensing company should be instructed to guide you through the process. In short, the type of licence required will depend on the property itself, how it is tenanted and the borough that it is located in.

For more information about property licensing, download our guide.

Work in the property business?

Do you work as a letting agent, mortgage consultants, investors or property/building manager? Then take a look at our sister company Yuno, who is ready to help you with any changes you must make.

For more information please contact HMO Services on 020 3848 2200 or email admin@hmoserviceslondon.com.

Lambeth Council HMO Properties Consultation

The London Borough of Lambeth has recently finished its consultation on proposals for additional licensing of HMO Properties.

The consultation with letting agents, landlords, property managers, freeholders, leaseholders, and others ended on 12th March contained proposals which sought to license all HMOs in Lambeth thus doubling the size of its current scheme.

Why is the scheme being introduced?

The council’s reasons for the introduction of this latest HMO licensing scheme in the borough is to improve accommodation standards for tenants, routing out rogue landlords and illegal HMO Properties.

The new scheme is particularly aimed at those landlords who rent out smaller HMOs who fail to ensure the correct property compliance, and acceptable conditions for their tenants. Any landlords who do not comply with the licensing, will be faced with fines. The costs of licensing HMO Properties can vary from borough to borough.

Now the consultation has closed, Lambeth Council will go through the responses and report back to the council’s cabinet with their findings and recommendations.

If the council decides to press ahead with the new licensing scheme, then it is likely to be put in place in April 2022.

How can I check my property compliance?

The HMO Services Compliance checker will help you stay one step ahead of any changes like this and help with your property compliance, so you know how any licensing changes by your local council could affect you. Just enter your postcode 👍 to find out more.

What is a HMO?

To determine what is an HMO we need to start with what ‘HMO’ stands for ie. House in Multiple Occupancy or House of Multiple Occupation. The standard definition of a section 254 HMO is: 3 or more tenants, more than 1 household and shared facilities.

For Section 257 HMOs, the standard definition of a section 257 HMO refers to buildings that: have been converted into self-contained flats; the conversion did not comply with the relevant Building Regulations in force at that time and still does not comply; and less than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied.

What is Property Licensing?

Property licensing is the Local Authority’s process of improving living standards in rental accommodation and proving that landlords are ‘fit and proper’ persons to operate these properties. The type of licence a property requires varies depending on a number of different factors, including the number of tenants and the council your property is located in.

Why is Property Licensing important?

It is important that you are aware of both the national and local authority regulations. The licensing rules are not consistent across every London borough, with each individual borough creating its own set of licensing rules. A professional licensing company should be instructed to guide you through the process. In short, the type of licence required will depend on the property itself, how it is tenanted and the borough that it is located in.

For more information about property licensing, download our guide.

Work in the property business?

Do you work as a letting agent, mortgage consultants, investors or property/building manager? Then take a look at our sister company Yuno, who is ready to help you with any changes you must make.

For more information please contact HMO Services on 020 3848 2200 or email admin@hmoserviceslondon.com.

Kensington and Chelsea council start consultation on second HMO licence

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has published a consultation with draft proposals to introduce a second HMO licence for landlords who have HMO properties. The council’s aim is to improve housing standards, act against those who do not provide safe accommodation for their tenants and ensure that the right property licensing is in place.

The council has explained that these proposals have been designed to simplify HMO licence applications and reduce unnecessary paperwork. More about the consultation can be found on the council website.

Under current compulsory licensing rules, Kensington and Chelsea Counci can only licence about 185 properties. 8,244 HMOs exist in this borough and 44% of its housing stock is privately rented. They have also discovered via their own research that 2,400 privately rented properties have serious dangers to tenants’ health and safety, are generally poorly managed and linked with anti-social behaviour.

The consultation seeks views on introducing an extra licence that would add another layer of protection for tenants, identifying licensed and responsible landlords, who will have the correct HMO licensing required.

There are 8,244 HMOs in Kensington and Chelsea, and 44 per cent of the borough’s housing stock is privately rented. According to the council’s research, there are about 2,400 privately rented properties that have the most serious hazards. Many are “poorly managed” and are associated with antisocial behaviour.

The Mandatory HMO licence cost in Kensington & Chelsea is £1248.13 + £12.60 per habitable room.

Director of streets and technical services Mahmood Siddiqi stated: “Everyone deserves a safe place to live and most landlords in our borough are fair and responsible. This proposed licensing scheme would boost housing standards and give us more information so we can enforce against the few landlords who persistently provide poorly managed housing to their tenants.

“It could be good news for tenants and good news for compliant landlords, who would be able to operate in a fairer market.”

The consultation began on March 29th and runs for twelve weeks until 20th June 2021. It is open to everyone.

How can I check my property compliance?

The HMO Services Compliance checker will help you stay one step ahead of any changes like this and help with your property compliance, so you know how any HMO licence changes by your local council could affect you. Just enter your postcode 👍 to find out more.

What is a HMO?

To determine what is an HMO we need to start with what ‘HMO’ stands for ie. House in Multiple Occupancy or House of Multiple Occupation. The standard definition of a section 254 HMO is: 3 or more tenants, more than 1 household and shared facilities.

For Section 257 HMOs, the standard definition of a section 257 HMO refers to buildings that: have been converted into self-contained flats; the conversion did not comply with the relevant Building Regulations in force at that time and still does not comply; and less than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied.

What is Property Licensing?

Property licensing is the Local Authority’s process of improving living standards in rental accommodation and proving that landlords are ‘fit and proper’ persons to operate these properties. The type of licence a property requires varies depending on a number of different factors, including the number of tenants and the council your property is located in.

Why is Property Licensing important?

It is important that you are aware of both the national and local authority regulations. The licensing rules are not consistent across every London borough, with each individual borough creating its own set of licensing rules. A professional licensing company should be instructed to guide you through the process. In short, the type of licence required will depend on the property itself, how it is tenanted and the borough that it is located in.

For more information about property licensing, download our guide.

Work in the property business?

Do you work as a letting agent, mortgage consultants, investors or property/building manager? Then take a look at our sister company Yuno, who is ready to help you with any changes you must make.

For more information please contact HMO Services on 020 3848 2200 or email admin@hmoserviceslondon.com.

New HMO Licensing for City of Westminster due in August

In the London Borough of the City of Westminster, new additional HMO licensing will come into operation on 30th August 2021.

The scheme has been introduced as part of a wider strategy for the private rental sector, as the council seeks to improve their ability to properly license all HMO properties in the borough. Currently, the council is restricted by national laws to only be able to license 300 of the 9000 and more HMOs in Westminster.

Why is new HMO licensing needed?

With the consultation which closed in February 2021, the council will be able to greatly increase living standards for tenants and provide landlords with a common benchmark for HMO property licensing and compliance, and eradicate poor tenancy management and practice.

Cllr Heather Acton, Cabinet Member for Public Protection & Licensing, said: “The safety and livelihood of our residents and communities is always at the peak of priorities for the council, and now more than ever, ensuring that Westminster has a high-quality provision of housing in the private rented sector is imperative.

“With this additional licensing scheme for homes of multiple occupancies, we will be able to significantly increase our reach over this specific part of the sector, driving up standards across the board and ensuring that private tenants in the area are living in shared properties that are well managed and maintained and, most importantly, and safe and secure.”

The largest private rented sector in England is in the City of Westminster borough with an estimated 52,700 properties and 43% of the total housing stock, many of these properties marked as HMOs.

How can I check my property compliance?

The HMO Services Compliance checker will help you stay one step ahead of any changes like this and help with your property compliance, so you know how any licensing changes by your local council could affect you. Just enter your postcode 👍 to find out more.

What is a HMO?

To determine what is an HMO we need to start with what ‘HMO’ stands for ie. House in Multiple Occupancy or House of Multiple Occupation. The standard definition of a section 254 HMO is: 3 or more tenants, more than 1 household and shared facilities.

For Section 257 HMOs, the standard definition of a section 257 HMO refers to buildings that: have been converted into self-contained flats; the conversion did not comply with the relevant Building Regulations in force at that time and still does not comply; and less than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied.

What is Property Licensing?

Property licensing is the Local Authority’s process of improving living standards in rental accommodation and proving that landlords are ‘fit and proper’ persons to operate these properties. The type of licence a property requires varies depending on a number of different factors, including the number of tenants and the council your property is located in.

Why is Property Licensing important?

It is important that you are aware of both the national and local authority regulations. The licensing rules are not consistent across every London borough, with each individual borough creating its own set of licensing rules. A professional licensing company should be instructed to guide you through the process. In short, the type of licence required will depend on the property itself, how it is tenanted and the borough that it is located in.

For more information about property licensing, download our guide.

Work in the property business?

Do you work as a letting agent, mortgage consultants, investors or property/building manager? Then take a look at our sister company Yuno, who is ready to help you with any changes you must make.

For more information please contact HMO Services on 020 3848 2200 or email admin@hmoserviceslondon.com.

New Additional Licensing Scheme In Haringey

Haringey To Run New Additional HMO Licensing Scheme

A new borough-wide Additional HMO licensing scheme in Haringey was approved by the Cabinet in February 2019. The scheme will to come into force on 27th May 2019 and requires all HMOs within Haringey, that do not meet the Mandatory licensing criteria, to be licensed.

This new Additional licensing scheme will replace the Additional licensing scheme currently running in the Tottenham area of the borough, which is due to end on 19th April 2019.

Under Haringey’s new Additional licensing scheme properties that meet the following criteria of an 254 HMO, and do not meet the Mandatory licensing criteria, must have an Additional HMO licence:

  • 3 or more tenants;
  • from more than 1 household;
  • sharing facilities

The Additional HMO licensing scheme also includes S257 HMOs across the entire borough. In Haringey, buildings are considered licensable S257 HMOs if they:

  • have been converted into self-contained flats;
  • the conversion did not comply with the 1991 Buildings Regulations; and
  • more than one-third of the flats are let on short-term tenancies and owned by the same person

It is the responsibility of the freeholder of the building to apply for an Additional licence for S257 HMOs.

For a building to be classified as an HMO it must fulfil the criteria outlined above, and meet the standard conversion test, self-contained flat test or converted building test. For more information on this, the full definition of all types of HMO’s can be found in Section 254 to 260 of The Housing Act 2004.

It is important to note that there are various statutory exemptions to licensing schemes, please contact HMO Services for further information about the exemptions currently in place.

The purpose of the new scheme is to protect the tenant’s health, safety and welfare by ensuring that all HMOs within the borough are adequately managed and meet the legal standards of the Private Rental Sector.

The London Borough of Haringey have created an “early bird” fee of £500, instead of £1,000, for compliant landlords who submit their application before the scheme commences on 27th May 2019. Haringey council are in the process of developing an online application system however until this is launched all applications must be completed by hand. 

SUMMARY OF LICENSING IN HARINGEY

  • If you are a landlord of a property in Haringey with 3 or more tenants from more 1 than household you need an Additional HMO licence.
  • If you are the freeholder of a building that meets the S257 HMO criteria listed above you need an Additional HMO licence.
  • If you apply for your Additional HMO licence before 27th May 2019 you will receive a discounted fee of £500.

Testing Hammersmith and Fulham application systems

Hammersmith and Fulham launch their online application system

On Thursday the 25th of May, John and I went into Hammersmith and Fulham council offices to test out their application system.

The applications opened on Monday the 5th of June, the same day their additional and selective scheme began running.

So what did we find out at LBHF?

We were quite surprised to find out that the council has created a system which uses one application for all three types of licences. The system uses logic to determine the type of licence you will need and tells you at the end of the application. After some initial reservations – regarding the difference between Mandatory and Selective applications – we both decided this way of doing things actually worked quite well.

Important to know, Hammersmith and Fulham will only be taking online payments and will not be receiving any cheques or modes of payment that are not through the online system.

Licence holders have to be resident in the UK. If you are an overseas landlord/lady then you will have to find somebody to become the responsible party and hold the licence on your behalf. This person will be have control over the asset in terms of rent collection, arranging repairs and general property management.

The experience was invaluable, we got to be the first company to see and use their system giving us a great head start. We were also asked to give criticisms and point out where the user functionality could be improved. The feedback we made was taken very seriously and we noticed relevant changes had been made to the system within a couple of days. All in all, we were impressed with their system, it was quite clear they had invested a lot of time and money into it.

Are you having problems with the online applications for Hammersmith and Fulham? Get in touch with one of our experts today for support.

National HMO Network Conference

Last week John and I were very pleased to attend a conference held by National HMO Network at the London Fire Brigade Headquarters for their biannual conference. The line-up of guest speakers was great and included Nick Coombe from the Fire Safety Team at the London Fire Brigade, Andrew Boff – deputy chair of housing committee at the General London Assembly and Richard Tacagni, property licensing pro and ex-environmental health officer.

Nick did a presentation regarding the London’s fire safety plan, their achievements and key concerns. Particularly interesting was the brief look into the direction of future fire prevention technology including; automatic cooker shut off, audible reminders, GPS dementia tracking and increased use of fire proof materials in the production of home furnishings.

Andrew’s presentation addressed the demand on London’s housing sector, currently aiming to provide 49,000 houses annually in order to meet that demand. He discussed their need and desire to reach out to smaller developers in London. Regarding property licensing, the general opinion is that HMOs are a great way to provide homes for the bulging populace of the capital. Boff understood that despite HMO licensing being a noble aim, it needed properly funding so that the local authorities don’t end up with purely a list of good landlords. A sentiment shared by many landlords in London.

The presentation which I assume was the most highly anticipated was that of Richard Tacagni who talked about the expansion of the mandatory licensing scheme. Intentions to do so were first made publicly clear in October 2016 by Gavin Barwell, the then housing minister. On the 7th of February 2017, these plans were later confirmed in the housing white paper with a possible implementation date of the 1st of October 2017. Of course, with Barwell losing his seat in the constituency of Croydon, a new housing minister will need to be appointed. However, there is little evidence to suggest that these expansion plans won’t go ahead due to the government’s commitment to improve HMO and property regulations. Whether there will be a slight delay is yet to be seen.

The changes to Mandatory licensing could include the following;

-increased DBS criminal record checks of landlords/ladies

-removal of the three-storey rule

-conditions regarding refuse disposal

If your property has come under an additional licensing scheme but will later be brought under the scope of the extended mandatory scheme, it will be ‘passported’ up to a mandatory licence.

If you would like help regarding your property, give us a call today and we will see how we can help to ensure you have the right fire precautions in order to be granted a licence!

Hammersmith and Fulham Additional Licensing Scheme

Additional HMO Licence Scheme

In an aim to increase standards and control the quality of privately available rented accommodation in the district, Hammersmith and Fulham are introducing an additional licensing scheme for HMOs in the area.

The scheme will come into affect on the 5th of June – the date when we are expecting applications to be available on the council website. The additional licensing scheme will require landlords across the borough to get a licence if they let a property occupied by at least three people who do not make up a single household and who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. 

The introduction of an Additional Licensing Scheme is just one of the new measures brought in by the council to control property standards. Other measures include increased safety protocols for tenants including waste management – these changes were made in January of this year and include all licensed properties.

An increased Selective Licensing Scheme will require all landlords letting a property on named streets, where anti-social behaviour has been a problem, to get a licence.

A new landlords’ rental charter to encourage landlords to commit to best practice in management, housing standards, living rent, charges, protecting tenants’ deposits and security of tenancies. We expect this will attract tenants to choose H&F charter landlords over other landlords.

A new social lettings agency to put potential renters in touch with the best local landlords who meet all the higher standards expected.

It is not surprising that the county is currently leading the way in increased property regulation considering one third of the rental accommodation in Hammersmith and Fulham is supplied by the private rented sector.

More specific information regarding Additional Licensing will be available as we have it!

Civil Penalties Introduced

Civil Penalties show degree to which government is keen to increase control in the private rented sector.

The introduction of Civil Penalties on Thursday the 6th of April 2017 is a good indication of the strengthening of local authority powers to tackle ‘rogue landlords’ currently taking place. As set out in the Housing and Planning Act 2016, the Government want to make serious movements toward regulating the growing private rented sector.

What is a Civil Penalty?

A civil penalty allows local authority to directly fine the landlord or letting agent in breach of housing law. This means that local authorities will be much more likely to apply fines as it will not be necessary to through the courts, rather, the fines will be applied directly to landlords and agents.

There is a clearly a direct link between HMO regulation and the introduction of civil penalties. This was set out in Housing and Planning Act 2016 and later considered during the government consultation. Of the fineable offences, three out of five are directly linked to non-compliance to HMO regulation.

Civil penalties will be possible for the following offences:

  • Offences in relation to the licensing of a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO)
  • Offences in relation to selective licensing under part 3 of the Housing Act 2004
  • Failure to comply with management regulations for HMOs
  • Contravention of an overcrowding notice
  • Failure to comply to improvement orders issued by Local Authorities.

Importantly, a landlord or letting agent can incur up to three penalties totaling £30,000 each, with a maximum fine £90,000.

Why the need for civil penalties?

Concurrent with the Government consultation carried out in October 2016, the increased charges have been brought in to act as a greater deterrent against non-compliance of HMO regulation. It was deemed that earlier fines were being costed in as simple running costs for some larger portfolio landlords – and therefore HMO licensing obligations were being neglected.

The growth of the private rented sector has meant that local authorities are lacking control over the rental market. New measures brought in regarding improving standards in the market are hoping to show tenants that government is taking action to improve conditions for private renters.

What does a local authority need to do to impose a civil penalty?

The local authority will need to serve notice to the landlord or agent. This will need to detail the amount of the proposed penalty, the reasons for which it is being issued, and information on how the landlord or agent can contend the fine.

Importantly, the notice must be served within 6 months of the evidence being presented to prove the offence was committed or whilst the offence is on-going. The landlord or agent will then have 28 days to make their defense directly to the local authority. The defense is considered before a final civil penalty is given.

We are still waiting to hear about the landlord database and whether it will introduce a banning order on landlords who have failed to comply. More as we get it…