student houses and hmo regulations?

tucbiscuit

Hi if anyone knowledgable could help me here it would be appreciated.

Does anyone know about hmo's? In particular how they apply to student houses. I know it depends on amount of people, number of floors and number of different 'households'/families within the property.

So say scenario one; four students in a two storey house ( 3 bedrooms upstairs one downstairs) is that a hmo?

And scenario two; five students in a two storey house (4 bedrooms upstairs one down) is that a hmo?

Also does anyone know if there are any rules regarding numbers of students per house and amount of bathrooms?

thanks for any help anyone can offer

sooz

It depend on the council.
Mandatory licensing applies to three or more stories and five or more people. Additional licensing depends on the whim of the individual council. Look on the council website of the area/s you are looking in.

tucbiscuit

ok, thanks

00ec25

agreed, neither the 4 person nor the 5 person household is a complusory HMO, therefore the only way to find out is to ask the respective council what, if any, are their rules.
However, given the number of households, it is highly likely the council will require some form of heath and safety fittings (fire alarms etc) but, depending on the individal authority, they may or may not charge you a ("selective") licence fee.

re bathrooms - the regulations were relaxed (a bit) in Oct 2007 whereafter the number of bathrooms/toilets is at the discretion of the local authority, the old regs (rigidly) required that a 4 household HMO had to have a toilet (which could be in the bathroom) but a 5 househould HMO had to have a toilet separate from the bathroom (the bathroom could, of course, also contain a toilet). There was also a requirement to fit wash hand basins in bedrooms for 5 household HMOs

the 4 bedder with a bathroom and no separate toilet is OK (but won't be very comfortable for the tenants). If the 5 bedder does not have a toilet outside the bathroom you may have problems however, at the end of the day the rules now mean the council can decide for itself what is appropriate, (although most no longer require washbasins in bedrooms as that was the issue which caused the most trouble)

tucbiscuit

ok, thanks for that, looks like a call to my local council is needed, any idea what a ballpark figure would be for a license?

tbs624

00ec25 wrote: »

agreed, neither the 4 person nor the 5 person household is a complusory HMO, therefore the only way to find out is to ask the respective council what, if any, are their rules.

Properties may be classed as an HMO, without necessarily needing a license. The forms of license, however, are "mandatory, selective and addtional" As the OP's location is given as Manchester it's worth noting that there *all* rental properties in certain areas *will* require a license.

tucbiscuit - all the information you need is available from your local Council. In addition to mandatory licensing Manchester has selective and additional licensing in place in some areas of the city. For examples you need licences for all accommodation you'd be renting out in the following Wards:

• Harpurhey
• Bradford (incl Beswick and Openshaw)
• Gorton North and Gorton South
• parts of Moston

The fines for failing to have the appropriate license are hefty ones so don't rely on info given by us on here - get it from the horse's mouth and.. erm.. they can even tell you what it will cost you.