HMO-Sinks in every room-mandatory?

TJ27

Licences are generally given out but with conditions attached. So you get the licence but it comes with a schedule of works, which must be completed within a period of time.

Then if the work isn't done, the licence can be taken away and you can be fined. At least that's how we're doing it.

To get the licence in the first place you need to prove that you're fit to manage the property, have no convictions, have funds in place to carry out repairs, etc.

Tassotti

TJ27 wrote:

have no convictions

I take it that means criminal convictions and not driving convictions?

Best speak to my mate Crusher and tell him to sell his HMO quickly

tonyivb

suffolkb wrote:

Of course there should be a sink in each room. Do you expect them to go all the way to the toilet after a night on the beer?

That brings back memories... )

Landlords - It would be appreciated if you could supply a plug strainer to facilitate the easy removal of diced carrots from the sink!

TJ27

Technically a driving conviction is a criminal conviction I think.

However, yes I do mean fairly serious convictions. Fraud, sexual offences, stuff like that. I think we ask for a "disclosure scotland" report, which is a little bit like a CRB check but not so detailed or pricey.

We already know which landlords we have prosecuted under the Housing Act and therefore already have a pretty good idea of who we won't be awarding a licence to. We will of course be vising their properties very shortly!

We are getting a lot of landlords applying for planning permission to convert their three storey shared houses into self contained flats. Flats are not subject to mandatory licensing. So this might be a way for Crusher to get around the regs. Lots of the planning applications are being rejected though.

Tassotti

Converting seems like a false economy to me.

The costs involved to do this would surely outweigh the cost of the licensing.

What is the cost of a license..It lasts 5 years I think..Am I correct?

TJ27

Yeah it is five years. The cost varies but with us it's about 350 quid.

The thing is, if you're a rubbish landlord, with loads of criminal convictions, what are your alternatives? You either convert, sell (probably at a rubbish price), or lose control of your property. Don't forget that whether they convert or not, the rubbish landlords will probably have to spend a lot of money on fire regs work anyway.

Tassotti

What do you mean by 'lose control of your property'?

Do the council take ownership?

TJ27

Yup. The council can take control of the property. I think it would normally then be given to a housing association to manage, although ownership wouldn't change.

Councils do however have powers to compulsory purchase property that is left vacant for a period of time. So kicking out the tenants and leaving a property empty isn't a good option either.

It's fairly rare, and it doesn't happen overnight, and we don't like doing it because it's a pain, but it does happen.

TJ27

But to get back to the original poster, (and this is another thing alluded to by Amboy) there is a part of the legislation itself regarding, "washing facilities". It is very specific and not something which is open to interpretation by the likes of me. So I don't think there is an way around it, unless you buy in Wales where it doesn't apply.

How would having a basin in every bedroom affect resale value though? It might improve it slightly I guess?

It is a bit daft though isn't it!

sooz

TJ27 wrote:

How would having a basin in every bedroom affect resale value though? It might improve it slightly I guess?

unlikely...how many people wanting to purchase a family house would be interested in having a hand basin in the dining room, or soil/waste pipes running up the front of a house - if anything it would devalue the property.

Re-instate the dining room! [people should eat together, at a table, and not just infront of the telly....sorry rant over]

try asking your neighbouring councils what their policy is on the basin rule - i understand some councils are being more lenient in the timeframe allowed to make this "improvement" than others - hoping that someone might see sense and the rules will be changed before they have to enforce it...not that it really would help if your council insists, but you might be able to argue your case better.


as another poster said, whether you reduce the number of tenants or not, you still need to comply with the HHSRS & specifically the fire regs, but making these alterations should not devalue the property - esp as you state it's a new build, so you will not be ripping out 'original' wood doors to replace them with fire doors [as i've recently had to, and i was gutted, i loved the original victorian panelled doors]. when installing the hard wired alarms, you might as well put in the lighting at the same time, even though it's not yet mandatory. the ground and first floor aren't too bad have done, since you can do it from above by lifting the floors, but the top floor usually requires some plastering and repainting afterwards.