The Residential Health Section of Environmental Services is responsible for enforcing housing standards in the private sector. A particular area of work is Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)

What is an HMO?

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) is a term that describes in broad terms a range of housing accommodation where there is normally (but not always) some element of sharing of basic amenities such as bathrooms or kitchens by a number of individuals living as separate households. This includes properties such as houses or flats shared by a group of friends or colleagues, bedsit type accommodation with shared bathrooms and bed and breakfast type establishments for persons who have no other home.

In addition, properties consisting of solely self contained units could still be considered to be an HMO dependent on the date of construction/conversion and the quality of the works carried out.

There are some exemptions detailed in the definition.

The full legal definition of a house in multiple occupation is contained within the Housing Act 2004. See the Communities and Local Government website for further information.

Why is the Council concerned about HMOs

HMOs can provide affordable housing for people who perhaps cannot afford to rent a flat or house and are not eligible for Council housing. However, there are particular problems, which may be associated with this type of accommodation and the Council has powers to deal with such properties under the above Act and Regulations issued under it.

• Fire Risk - when any building is divided into many lettings there is an increased fire risk due to the greater number of occupiers with additional electrical appliances, cooking appliances, water heaters etc and in particular where the occupants do not know the whereabouts or actions of the other residents. The fire risk also increases when there are more floors to the building as this increases the distance that tenants would have to travel if there was a fire. The specific works which would be required to provide adequate fire precautions would depend on the property and it is not possible to give further guidance here, however, the Council works with Essex Fire and Rescue Service to ensure appropriate standards are required and are comparative throughout Essex. The Council has signed up to the national protocol and a joint agreement between all Essex Authorities and the EFRS has been signed and agreed.
• Management -The general level of management and maintenance required for this type of property can be more onerous than for a normal family house, especially where there are shared facilities. Please see below for the detail of the responsibility of the manager/ownerfor adequate management of an HMO.
• Shared facilities - Whilst self-contained lettings is the ideal, shared bathrooms and wcs are accepted and should be provided on the ratio of at least one per 5 residents. Shared kitchens are acceptable in certain circumstances but would need to be discussed with an officer from this service. However, the preferred standard is for each letting to have its own kitchen facilities within the letting or in a nearby room specifically for the use of a particular letting.
• Overcrowding - Minimum room sizes apply to bed-sit type lettings, rooms less than 4.6 m² are undersized for occupation, a room for a single person should be a minimum of 6.5m² and rooms for a couple should be a minimum of 10.2m². In addition, it is not permissible for 2 persons, 12 years of age or more, of opposite sex, not being persons living together as a couple, to sleep in the same room.
  

What is the Council doing to ensure owners of HMOs are complying with legal standards?

The Council routinely carries out inspections of all known HMOs in the District. If conditions are not up to the required standards then the owner or manager is required to improve them. In addition, if an owner of a property wants to set up a new HMO, then Officers will visit and give advice on the requirements for the property. The advice of other Services must also be sought, including Planning and Development Control which may both make requirements to comply with the standards which they enforce. We will also respond to complaints received from occupying tenants or other persons or Services or external agencies such as Social Services.

Inspections look at the general conditions of the structure to check compliance with the standards required by the Housing Act 2004. These standards include:

In addition, the Council has specific powers to deal with management issues given in The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006. See the website of the Government Department of Communities and Local Government for more information.

These Regulations place the following duties on the owner or manager of any HMO (other than buildings consisting solely of self contained units). For regulations to specifically cover this type of HMO see the website of the Government Department of Communities and Local Government for more information.

These are briefly described below.

• Duty of manager to provide information to occupier

To provide each household with the manager's details and to display those details in the property.

• Duty of manager to take safety measures

To keep the means of escape from fire free from obstruction and in good order and repair.

To maintain all fire fighting equipment and alarms in good working order.

To ensure escape routes are adequately signed.

To take any measures reasonably required to protect the occupiers from injury as a result of the design, structural conditions and number of occupiers in the HMO.

In particular, to ensure that any roofs or balconies are made safe or prevent access to those areas and ensure that any low level window cills are guarded.

• Duty of manager to maintain water supply and drainage

To ensure that the water supply and drainage system serving the HMO is maintained in good, clean and working condition

• Duty of manager to supply and maintain gas and electricity

To supply to the Local Authority within 7 days of requesting, the latest Landlord Gas Safety Record as given by a Gas Safe registered contractor.

To ensure that every fixed electrical installation is inspected and tested at least once in every five years by a qualified person and that a certificate is obtained as a result of this test and inspection and that a copy of that certificate is supplied to the Local Authority within 7 days of it being requested.

Not to unreasonably cause the gas or electricity supply within the HMO to be interrupted.

• Duty of manager to maintain common parts, fixtures, fittings and appliances

To ensure that all common parts of the HMO are maintained in good and clean decorative repair, safe and working condition and kept reasonable free from obstruction. This duty particularly includes all handrails and banisters, stair coverings, all windows and other means of ventilation, all light fittings and all defined fixtures, fittings and appliances.

In addition, all outbuildings, yards and forecourts should be kept in repair and clean condition and good order, any gardens should be kept in a safe and tidy condition and all boundary walls, fences and railings should be kept and maintained in good and safe repair.

• Duty of manager to maintain living accommodation

Each unit of living accommodation and any furniture supplied with it should be in a clean condition when a new tenant moves in. The internal structure of the living accommodation should be kept in good repair, any fixtures, fittings or appliances should be maintained in good repair and in clean working order and every window and other means for ventilation should be kept in good repair.

• Duty to provide waste disposal facilities

The manager must ensure that sufficient bins or other means for storage of refuse and litter prior to collection by the Local Authority are provided and to make such arrangements as may be necessary for the disposal of refuse if the service provided by the Local Authority is inadequate.

There are also duties placed on occupiers of HMOs by these Regulations to ensure that the manager can effectively carry out his duties as outlined above. The duties include:

• To take care not to hinder or frustrate the manager in performing his duties.
• To allow the manager, at all reasonable times, to enter any occupied rooms so that he can carry out his duties imposed on him by these regulations
• Provide the manager on request any relevant information required for the purpose of carrying out any duty
• Take care not to damage anything which the manager has a duty to maintain under these Regulations. This is particularly important with regard to fire precautions.
• To store and dispose of litter and rubbish in accordance with the arrangements made by the manager
• Comply with arrangements made by the manager in respect of means of escape from fire and anything provided as fire precautions or for rubbish storage and disposal.

HMO Licensing

The Housing Act 2004 introduced the licensing of HMOs. It is mandatory to license certain larger and higher risk HMOs, with the Council having discretion to license other HMOs. At the moment Tendring District Council has no plans to introduce such additional licensing schemes or selective licensing schemes for non HMOs.

Briefly, HMOs subject to compulsory licensing are defined as HMOs (which are not exempt by any of the exemptions given in the legislation such as properties owned and managed by Registered Social Landlords) with three or more storeys and with 5 or more occupiers which form two or more households and where there is some element of sharing of basic amenities. (i.e Self-contained flats are excluded from the provisions.)

These provisions came in to force on 6^th April 2006 and have made it a criminal offence for a person to operate an HMO which should be licensed without a licence. The Government wants larger HMOs to be licensed as they often have poorer physical and management standards than other privately rented properties and the people who live in them are often amongst the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of society

This application is not subject to tacit approval under the European Union Services Directive. The indicative timescale for dealing with the application is proposed to be within 125 days of receipt of a full application. The deadline may be required to be extended, you will be notified of the new deadline and the reason for extending it.

Licensing is intended to make sure that-

• Landlords of HMOs are fit and proper people, or employ managers who are,
• Each HMO is suitable for occupation by the number of people allowed under the licence
• The standard of management of the HMO is adequate
• High risk HMOs are identified and targeted for improvement where appropriate

Where these criteria cannot be met, the Council can intervene and manage the property so that -

• Vulnerable tenants can be protected
• HMOs are not overcrowded
• Councils can identify and support landlords, especially with regeneration and tackling anti social behaviour.

How will it work?

The Council has contacted the owners of all known HMOs which are considered to require a licence and required that they submit an application. If you are thinking of setting up such a premises or purchasing an existing operating HMO then you should contact this Service for advice and to make your application before you begin to operate. A licence cannot be transferred. Alternatively you may wish to download and complete the Application Form and Fire Risk Assessment Guidance.

On receipt of an application with the set fee of £545.00, the Council will issue a licence if it is satisfied that -

• The HMO is reasonable suitable for occupation by the number of people allowed under the licence,
• The proposed licence holder is a fit and proper person,
• The proposed licence holder is the most appropriate person to hold the licence
• The proposed manager, if there is one, is a "fit and proper person"
• The proposed management arrangements are satisfactory
• The person involved in the management of the HMO is competent
• The financial structures for the management are suitable.

What does a fit and proper person mean?

The Council will carry out checks to make sure that the person applying for the licence is a fit and proper person. It will take the following into account in deciding this-

• Any previous convictions relating to violence, sexual offences, drugs and fraud,
• Whether the proposed licence holder has broken any laws relating to housing or landlord and tenant issues,
• Whether the person has been found guilty of unlawful discrimination,
• Whether the person has previously managed HMOs that have broken any approve codes of practice.

What is in a licence?

The licence will specify the maximum number of people who may live in the property. It will also include the following conditions which apply to every licence-

• A Landlords Gas Safety Record must be provided once per year to the Council,
• Proof must be given that all electrical appliances and furniture are kept in a safe condition,
• Proof that all alarm and emergency lighting systems are correctly positioned and installed,
• Provide each occupier with a written statement of the terms on which they occupy the property.

Any of the following conditions may also be included in the licence-

• Restrictions or prohibitions on the use of parts of the HMO by occupants,
• A requirement that the condition of the property, its contents, such as furniture and all facilities and amenities, bathrooms and toilets for example, are in good working order,
• A requirement for specified works or repairs to be carried out within a particular time period,
• A requirement that the responsible person attends a training course to improve their knowledge and skill of managing this type of property.

The licence will last for five years but will need to be renewed if there is a change in circumstances such as a change in ownership.

The Council can refuse to issue a licence if the property or owner/manager cannot comply with the above standards.

You may appeal if the Council decides to refuse to issue the licence.

If the landlord or person managing a licensable property intends to take it out of use as an HMO, or reduces the number of occupants to take it outside of the mandatory licensing remit, and can give evidence to this, then they may apply for a Temporary Exemption Notice.(TEN). This lasts for a maximum of three months and if the situation is not resolved then a second TEN may be served. When this runs out the property must be licensed if it has not been taken out of the mandatory licensing remit.

Penalties

It is an offence if the landlord or person in control of the property fails to apply for a licence for a licensable property, or, allows a property to be occupied by more people than are permitted under the licence.

A fine of up to £20,000 may be imposed. In addition, breaking any of the licence conditions can result in fines of up to £5,000.

A tenant living in a property that should be licensed but hasn't been, can apply to the Residential Property Tribunal to claim back rent paid during the unlicensed period and Councils can claim back any Housing Benefit paid for the same period.

If you require any further information regarding Houses in Multiple Occupation please contact Environmental Services Residential Health team:

E-mail: environmental.services@tendringdc.gov.uk
Address: Environmental Services, Council Offices, Thorpe Road, Weeley, Essex, CO16 9AJ
Telephone: 01255 686744

Some advice will vary from authority to authority so it is advisable to contact your own local authority. To find out who your local authority is, you can check your Council Tax bill or enter your postcode on the DirectGov - the Government information website www.direct.gov.uk