What you need to comply with the HMO regulations.
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What is changing?
The HMO Regulations from April 6th are changing.
The changes will affect a large proportion of the property rental market, and there is a lot you need to know about so you can comply with the HMO regulations.
What is HMO?
A property with 3 or more stories AND 5 or more persons, forming 2 or more family units (ie people who are not related) is classed as a House in Multiple Occupancy. Unfortunately the definition of 'family units' is a little unclear.
Why HMO?
The intention behind the new revised HMO scheme is to improve the standard of rental property, in particular by improving or removing unsafe property from the rental arena. Here is an example of the type of property HMO is hoping to prevent Landlady fined for breaching HMO regulations
This property was in violation of the old legislation which is replaced on April 6th 2006.
General Requirements
In a strange way different councils are interpreting the new regulations differently to each other. This is causing a lot of confusion amongst landlords. Below are some general requirements which seems to be common to all councils. Remember this may change as the councils themselves are still undecided on some issues.
- 30-min self-closing fire resistant doors with smoke seals. The 30-min refers to the time a fire can burn against one side of it without penetrating the door.
- All doors required to be fire resisting (except cupboard doors) to have automatic self closing devices capable of closing the door from any angle and against any latch. Double chain \"perkomatic\" types generally suitable in this situation.
- Mains driven interlinked smoke and heat detectors (so if say the smoke alarm on the top floor goes off the alarm on the ground floor will also sound)
- 5:1 ratio of bedrooms to bathrooms. En-suites count as bathrooms so most modern properties should be alright here.
- Minimum bedroom sizes of 70 sq ft.
- Fire safety/fire exit signs & extinguishers on each floor.
- Fire blanket and/or extinguisher in kitchen.
- Emergency lighting on escape routes (ie stairs).
- Display conspicuously within each unit of accommodation, basic reminders on fire precautions for occupants.
- Ensure parking is adequate so that neighbours do not get annoyed with this or other issues.
- Contact your local council to confirm the exact requirements for your region.
Useful Tips
- Contact your council and make 'enquires' regarding the requirements for compliance in your area to determine if there is anything you definately have to change/improve in your property. Do this work BEFORE the initial inspection to create a better 'first impression' with the inspector. This may swing any issues which are deemed borderline in your favour.
- Purchase an extra microwave which has a built in oven. This goes to show you are not overcrowding the cooking facilities (and your tenants will be grateful of the upgrade too!).
Important Notes
If you have applied for HMO registration for your properties then you are exempt from any fines for non-compliance come July - even if it takes the council 3-6 month to get back to you. The fact you have applied shows that you are willing to comply.
You can apply for an exemption notice which gives you a 3-month extension period to allow you time to make any neccessary changes to your properties. You have to give a reason for needing the extension - all reasonable requests should be accepted. (by default everyone gets a 3-month extension - hence the real deadline for compliance is July following the April introduction of the rules)
If you fail to bring your property up to scratch with the new regulations the council is legally obliged to make an 'Interim Management Order' lasting 3-12 month and they have to put it right. Basically this means they collect rent from your tenants and spend it as they see fit - don't expect any change out of this one!
Failure to comply with the new rules will result in hefty HMO Penalties
Finally, remember that Good landlords have nothing to fear from HMOs. If you have kept your property in a good and safe condition you should be in a good position to sail through...