Government announces new HMO regulations

Minister gives autumn date for expansion of HMO licensing

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, will extend the mandatory licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) across England, with effect from 1st October 2018.

Javid has used the powers designated to him under sections 55(3) and 250(2)(a) and (b) of the Housing Act 2004(1). The change in regulations will remove the requirement that a property needs to be over three or more floors in order to come under mandatory licencing.

This means that any property that landlords rent to five or more people, not in the same family, will require an HMO licence.

The new requirements for a rental property to be licensed will be:

“4.  An HMO is of a prescribed description for the purpose of section 55(2)(a) of the Act if it—

(a)is occupied by five or more persons;

(b)is occupied by persons living in two or more separate households; and

(c)meets—

(i)the standard test under section 254(2) of the Act;

(ii)the self-contained flat test under section 254(3) of the Act but is not a purpose-built flat situated in a block comprising three or more self-contained flats; or

(iii)the converted building test under section 254(4) of the Act.”

Additional/Selective Licencing

Many Local Authorities around England have already used their discretionary powers to extend licensing schemes with Additional Licensing or Selective Licensing. This can include any type of rented property, regardless of the number of floors or bedrooms in the property.

Any properties which are already licensed under Selective or Additional Licensing schemes will be transferred into the new scheme at no cost to the landlord.

Grace Period

There will be NO grace period.

Landlords will have to apply for licences BEFORE 1st October 2018 or risk being fined for noncompliance.

Minimum room sizes

The government included in their recent consultation the  implementation of a minimum bedroom size of 6.51 square metres for one occupant; we are still waiting to hear if this proposal will become law.

We can help

If you are a current client, talk to your account manager at Purple Frog for assistance in making your HMO application. If you are not currently a Purple Frog client, you can contact us here: www.purplefrogproperty.com/landlords to find out more about our services.

References

You can read the full order, on the Government’s Legislation website: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/221/made.

We have previously written about governmental thinking on HMO licensing. You can find more details on our investors’ blog:

www.purplefrogproperty.com/government-expand-licensing-rental-properties/

www.purplefrogproperty.com/government-launches-new-consultation-houses-in-multiple-occupation/