We’re dismayed by the chaos and uncertainty that currently surrounds the licensing of HMOs by local authorities. Currently, planning approval is required to change the use of a property where 3 – 6 unrelated people share basic amenities. The government has indicated that they may change this, allowing individual authorities to decide their own rules. The government is currently consulting on the matter, with changes expected to be announced in September and coming into force on October.
In the meantime, anyone considering establishing an HMO is best advised to see what the government comes up with: if you stump up now far an application to change the status of your property, it could well be a waste of money. Delays are bad for tenants as properties will not be available for rent until clarity emerges.
As a general principle we think good landlords should welcome good regulation that is well enforced. As an industry, landlords suffer when unscrupulous individuals and companies drag the rest of us down. We’d like to see a system that rewards and encourages good landlords and makes it harder for that minority of people who are not good to deal with.
But we’re lukewarm on any proposal that means different local authorities have different regulations. We’d appreciate simplicity. Don’t forget, for instance, that there are 33 local authorities in London and 10 in Manchester. Landlords with multiple properties even streets away from each other might find they are subject to different sets of rules. That doesn’t sound ideal to us.
James Davis, CEO of Upad says: “Every landlord wants certainty. It makes it easier to plan and operate your property enterprise. And the chaos we’re currently seeing regarding licensing HMOs is just another bit of confusion in these uncertain times. Concerns about the economy, unemployment and Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance are compounded by the HMO limbo. At a time when the government seems to expect private landlords to take up much of the slack in the housing shortage, they’re not playing fair. It’s a sad situation that the best advice to landlords looking to develop their business over the next few month is to “do nothing until we know more.”
