HMO Licenses – Do You Have One? Do You Need One? We are now at the beginning of student season and having our own University in Bournemouth means the influx of teenagers leaving home for the first time and 2nd and 3rd year students coming back from their summer off sees a rise in the rental market. I think this subject has become more dear to my heart having two daughters away presently at university. Making sure they are living in good conditions, have enough fire extinguishers, a fire exit to hand, a Gas Safety and an Electrical Certificate in place and making sure their deposits are being protected in a Tenancy Deposit Scheme probably seems to them that I am being an over protective mother, but the fact is the above must be in place by law if you are living in a house of multiple occupancy (HMO). As a Landlord, you must register your rental property as an HMO with the local authority if it has three (habitable) storeys or more and it is occupied by five or more people in two or more households. The three questions you should ask yourself to find out if you need an HMO licence are: 1.Does your rental property have three or more storeys? 2.Do you let your property to five or more unrelated tenants? 3.Do your tenants share facilities? If you answer ‘ yes’ to all three questions, then you may need an HMO licence. However, if you answer ‘ yes’ to any of the questions it’s still wise to contact your council to find out if you need one. There are exceptions to who needs an HMO licence and these are as follows: You are living in your property with up to two lodgers The rental property is a flatshare, which is let out to two unrelated tenants All occupants who live in the property are freeholders (or long leaseholders) The property is a bail hostel or care home Purpose built blocks of flats are not considered to be HMOs, but if any of the individual flats are shared by more than two tenants in two or more households, they will be viewed as HMOs. The maximum fine for not having a licence in place is £20,000. A landlord was recently (September 2009) fined in Birmingham £6000 and costs of £3279 for failing to obtain a HMO Licence. Another landlord was fined £10,000 and £1015 costs for failing to have a HMO licence and allowing 11 people to live in a 3 storey terrace property. Local councils are keen to ensure the correct licences are in place in order to tackle poor standards in this type of property. Move On Rentals have a fantastic selection of houses, bungalows and flats to rent in the Bournemouth and Poole area.  Click HERE to go to Move On Rentals own website.

 

A mother recently died from being electrocuted by bathroom taps at a rental home. The woman aged 33 died instantly when she was hit by 175 volts when running a bath. Her five-year-old daughter found her and raised the alarm.

The coroner said he found in inexplicable that whilst gas safety checks and annual gas safety certificates are a specific legal requirement, electrical checks are not.

The owner of the property said he remained deeply concerned that there is a gap in the legislation which permitted this incident to occur and which puts others at risk. 

At Move On we explain to all our Landlords that although there is no legal requirement, it is a criminal offence if someone was hurt or died through letting a property that is not electrically safe and the only way to prove the property is safe – is to have an electrical certificate.

It breaks my heart when this young mum didn’t need to die. For years I have said that I wish they would make it a legal requirement, because although I understand that Landlords need to keep their costs down it can be sometimes frustrating trying to convince a landlord that we are not trying to take more of his money but to ensure the safety of the tenant and protect the interest of the Landlord.

A new campaign has been launched urging that the electric systems of all rental properties be checked on change of tenancy and at least every five years and I welcome this with open arms and hope the campaign will be heard.

The Letting sector is under constant scrutiny from the Government and being up-to-date with legislation is not only vital but could cause you being fined thousands of pounds.

This month I would like to draw your attention to Gas Safety Certificates. This is a legal yearly requirement and all gas appliances must be tested.

You may not be aware, but 30 people a year die from carbon monoxide in the UK and if death is caused by a Gas Safety Certificate not being in place then it is a criminal offence and you could be charged with manslaughter.

Last year a Landlord who owned a number of properties had allowed one of his Gas Safety Certificates to lapse. He was fined £4000 and £3719 in costs.

Last year a tenant (in London) smelt gas and telephoned Transco. It transpired that the Landlord had fitted the boiler himself and was not a Corgi registered engineer. He was fined £6000 and £4,478 costs.

Please be aware that as of the 1^st April 2009 Corgi will no longer be providing the Gas Safety Certificates due to their contract not being renewed. Gas Safe Register will now appear on all new paperwork.

At Move On we pride ourselves on being up to date with legislations and have regular seminars for new and existing Landlords. Our next Seminar is on May 13^th at the Orchid Hotel, Bournemouth. Please visit our website for more details. www.moveonrentals.com