HMO Fire regulations

Rory1471

How are these things regulated? Are there spot checks to check if the doors are satisfactory or do you have to wait for there to actually be a fire or the tenants complain or something? I am aware these rules are in place but to the best of my knowledge I've never seen a student accommodation with fire doors in place... are those landlords just risking it?

landlordjames

Hi Rory,

I think there are several questions you should ask yourself

1) what is your end goal?

Renting out a house as a single-let verses a house of multiple occupation (HMO) is vastly different.

What are you hoping to achieve - do you need the rent to cover your mortgage, do you want to make positive cashflow on the rent, are you looking to rent your house short-term or long-term? Are you planning on managing it yourself or are you hoping an agent will manage it for you?

2) are you aware of the basic legislation regarding renting out your house?

There are many laws and regulations that govern renting out property and there are several that you need to be aware of regardless of the type of property you are renting.

1) gas certificates -all rental properties require an up-to-date gas certificate
2) EPC - if you are not paying the utility bills on behalf of the tenants, then you will need an Energy Performance Certificate. If you are paying the bills, then you will not
3) Periodic Inspection Report - you may need one of these depending on type of let and council requirements
4) tenancy deposit scheme - all deposits need to be entered into the tenancy deposit scheme within 14 days and if you are managing it yourself, you will need to register into a scheme and pay a small fee
5) the rental market is quite competitive right now as lots of people are considering what you are thinking about so make sure your property is nicely decorated, has some "wow" factor and is suitable for tenants
6) if you are based in scotland or certain selective licencing areas, you may need to register as a landlord to let your property out
7) you need to inform your lender that you'll be letting out your property as they may a) not allow it b) increase your mortgage rate (oh yes, they do this all the time - think about 0.5-1% increase!!). Why do you need to do this - because it may contravene your mortgage agreement if you do not.

In terms of letting out as a HMO, I let out a few myself but the best advice I can give you is:

• talk to your local environmental health officers about letting out a property as a HMO and what requirements you will need to do. They are mainly quite friendly and will help you and the regulations are not that onerous provided you think about them up front.
• depending on what type of property it is will depend on what appropriate fire measures are required. The main things they are concerned about are fire escape routes, number of stories, fire hazards in bedrooms and kitchens, suitable heating etc.
• look online for help - i can recommend www.yourhmoexpert.com as he's a fellow landlord who has helped me in the past and has a lot of useful FREE advice on HMO's. I can also recommend http://www.eastmidlandsdash.org.uk/ who are a government agency who have done a lot of work on HMO's

3) are you going to let it yourself or through an agent?

Be aware of several things.

Most agents won't touch HMO's with a bargepole as they don't understand them. If they do, expect 15% management fees
You can manage it yourself but expect to spend 2 hours a week and more if showing round tenants looking after the property.
If you go down the single let route, get an agent to source and manage tenatns for you - so much easier.
If you manage it yourself, you should consider joining a landlord association such as http://www.landlords.org.uk/index.htm as they offer really good advice and help for landlords and there are tons of regulations/forms to keep on top of

hope this helps - good luck if you decide go down either route

James

AtomicDog

Notlob wrote: »

Yes, individual rooms will achieve higher rents than let to a family, but you must ask yourself is it worth the hassle, greater risk of non payment and more w&t.

I disagree, nothing creates more wear & tear than a family with kids

PasturesNew

Rory1471 wrote: »

I'm guessing fire doors etc are pretty expensive? What would the penalties be like if I didn't get them installed?

Worst case: several charges of murder or manslaughter and some time in the nick on soap-picking-up duties.

Austin_Allegro

I thought HMO status only applied if it was divided into households - ie lockable 'units' such as bedsits, rather than just a group of students sharing, which in law is the same as a family?

sooz

Austin_Allegro wrote: »

I thought HMO status only applied if it was divided into households - ie lockable 'units' such as bedsits, rather than just a group of students sharing, which in law is the same as a family?

No, they changed the law over 2 years ago
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/rentingandletting/privaterenting/housesmultiple/

LandlordLee

Hi.

As long as you have a house that is only two storeys then you are allowed up to 5 unrelated tenants. If you go onto a third floor you will need to apply for a license from the council This requires fire doors/frames, fire alarm to name a few things. So with the info you have provided you should be ok.

If you let individual rooms you will get a greater rent than as one unit so go for it.

Also i think the house with 9 people in will be licensed and your council website will have a list of licensed properties on it, check it out.

Notlob

LandlordLee wrote: »

Hi.

As long as you have a house that is only two storeys then you are allowed up to 5 unrelated tenants. If you go onto a third floor you will need to apply for a license from the council This requires fire doors/frames, fire alarm to name a few things. So with the info you have provided you should be ok.

Correct about the licence but councils can apply for greater powers to allow for two storey dwellings to be classified as a licensed HMO. However, you also need to understand that three or more people in two or more households will still be an HMO, albeit unlicensed. So will need to comply with stricter regulations.

Regarding sharers, most councils, if not all, will interpret that three sharers will fall under HMO legislation. This will still be true with a couple renting a property with a mate.

Notlob

sooz

Notlob wrote: »

Regarding sharers, most councils, if not all, will interpret that three sharers will fall under HMO legislation. This will still be true with a couple renting a property with a mate.

In my council, the above people sharing a bungalow would be licencable :mad:

TJ27

LandlordLee wrote: »

Hi.

As long as you have a house that is only two storeys then you are allowed up to 5 unrelated tenants. If you go onto a third floor you will need to apply for a license from the council This requires fire doors/frames, fire alarm to name a few things. So with the info you have provided you should be ok.

If you let individual rooms you will get a greater rent than as one unit so go for it.

Also i think the house with 9 people in will be licensed and your council website will have a list of licensed properties on it, check it out.

I'm afraid this isn't correct. Mandatory HMO licensing applies to shared houses of 3 storeys or more AND 5 or more occupiers, in 2 or more households.

So in a 2 storey house you are allowed any number of tenants and the house is not mandatory licensable.

In a 3 storey house it isn't non licensable up to five occupiers, it's up to four.

Some councils use selective or additional licensing too, in which case the rules might be different.