New rules relating to houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) apply from 1 October 2018. The key reform is the extension of mandatory licensing of HMOs. There are also new provisions regarding minimum room sizes and the management of household waste. Criminal and civil penalties can be imposed for non-compliance.
Extension of Mandatory Licensing
In simple terms, a house or flat is an HMO if it is occupied by three or more tenants who form two or more households and the tenants share some or all of the toilet, bathroom, or kitchen facilities.
Mandatory licensing applies to “large” HMOs, meaning those that are occupied by five or more people. A large HMO no longer needs to have three or more storeys to come within mandatory licensing.
Mandatory licensing will also now apply to purpose-built flats where there are up to two flats in the block and one or both are occupied by five or more people in two or more households. Each flat, if occupied as an HMO, will require a separate licence.
National Minimum Room Sizes
From 1 October 2018, HMO licences will specify which rooms in an HMO are suitable for sleeping accommodation, and by how many adults and children.
A room for a single adult or child aged 10 or over must have at least 6.51m2 of usable floor space. A room for two adults or children aged 10 or over must have at least 10.22m2 of usable floor space. A room with a usable floor area between 4.64m2 and 6.5m2 may be occupied as sleeping accommodation by a child under the age of ten.
Household Waste Management
For HMOs in England (but not in Wales), a licence granted on or after 1 October 2018 must include conditions requiring the licence holder to comply with any scheme provided by the local housing authority relating to the storage and disposal of household waste at the HMO pending collection. Schemes will vary from area to area but the idea is to require landlords to provide appropriate and sufficient refuse storage facilities for tenants.
Failure to Comply with HMO Legislation
There are serious consequences for landlords and letting agents who do not obtain licences for licensable properties, or who are in breach of licence conditions. These include unlimited fines for criminal offences, civil penalties of up to £30,000, rent repayment orders and, for persistent non-compliance, the possibility of a banning order being made against the landlord or agent. However, in relation to room sizes the local authority will allow landlords a period of time (up to 18 months) to rectify a breach.
How Do These Reforms Affect You?
Are you a landlord or tenant or local authority affected by these reforms? What steps have you had to take to prepare for 1 October? Will the new rules have the desired outcome of improving the standard of HMO accommodation? Please share your thoughts with us.