Rent a room scheme (but would it count as an HMO?)

rioja77

Hello, looking for advice please.
The guidance about what is an HMO is very clear on my council’s website but I’m not sure it answers my question (I know this sounds contradictory!)
We are considering renting out 2-3 bedrooms of our house very cheaply for 6-9 months to our friends, they are a couple with two pre-School aged children, we hope to do this under the Rent A Room scheme and charge just under the threshold of £7500 per annum. Myself and husband would be living there too and we would pay all bills mortgage etc (the main reason for doing this would be to help our friends have somewhere v cheap and v flexible to live whilst they look for a house to buy)
The house would therefore be rented to 4 people (incl the 2 kids), and Rented to 1 household - this would not count as an HMO.
However there would be 6people who are 2 households living in it (this would make it an HMO)
basically: do the kids count as people? (?!)
Would me and my husband count as renters even though we own the property?
I will post HMO info from my council website next and would tell/ask my mortgage company about lodgers- our intention is to help friends who want to move back to the area and not to dodge regulations but if we had to comply with HMO regulations it would lead kiely put us off this plan unfortunately ...ANY advice gratefully received, best Regards Rioja

rioja77

HMO info from Bristol Council

Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing
You need to apply for a licence if you're a landlord of a licensable House in Multiple Occupation (HMO). This means the property meets certain standards and is!safe and suitable for the number of people who live there.
Your property is a licensable HMO if all of the following apply:
• it's!rented to five!or more people from two or more households
• it has shared facilities!like a kitchen, bathroom or laundry room
A household!is a family, cohabiting couple or separate individuals. For example five friends are five households,!even if they share a tenancy.

agrinnall

It's pretty clear that it's not going to be rented to 5 or more people, so it won't be a HMO. I'm not sure whether it would be even if there were 5 people as they will be lodgers not tenants.

rioja77

Thanks for your reply, that is what I had hoped (but I read that a live in landlord would count as a household under HMO regs so this is one of the things that prompted me query by making me wonder if hubby and I would need to be included in the headcount/ household count) thanks again for your reply

Smodlet

If you are buying your property rather than renting and will continue to live there after your friends move in, they will be your lodgers, not your tenants. Your house will not become an HMO because you will be living there too.

Having said all that, I would echo the usual advice about doing it all above board and in writing to avoid any misunderstandings down the line. You don't want to end up on Judge Rinder do you?

See G_M's guide here. Page 9 refers to lodgers but there is a note on page 7 about the potential perils of letting to friends/relatives.

HTH.

theartfullodger

With live in landlord (not otherwise...) you can have 2 lodgers without being a HMO. 3 lodgers it's a HMO.

Depending on council it may or may not need a license.

Any HMO, requiring license or not, needs to comply with regulations.

rioja77

Thanks for your reply and advice Smodlet. Even though they are very good friends we will still be careful. We have owned the house for over 10 years and really want our friends to be able to easily relocate back to Bristol - renting a place would cost them over double what they will pay us and it will tie them in- we will use the money to renovate after they leave/ pay down mortgage/ go on holidays (that list is probably in reverse order!) I love Judge R but will take all measures to avoid being in the dock! Thanks again

00ec25

partial answer:
"For the purpose of calculating the number of persons living in the HMO the resident landlord and his household (if any) count as one person."

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letting-rooms-in-your-home-a-guide-for-resident-landlords/letting-rooms-in-your-home-a-guide-for-resident-landlords

I can't find the definition of "person" in the act, so I think in that case it takes its "natural" meaning, so a child is a "person"
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/part/7/crossheading/meaning-of-house-in-multiple-occupation

overall therefore I think you have 2 households comprising 5 persons, but it is what your council says that really matters obviously....

rioja77

This is the info artful lodger and 00ec25 that had led me to believe that it would make our house an HMO (so thanks for posting it) it was why I was hoping that perhaps my friends’ 2 young kids would not count as separate people!?! (So it would be 2 households but 4 people and not an HMO)

If it does indeed count as an HMO it will be below the size needing a license based on local rules but it’s nit the licensing that worries me- I think mortgage company would be more hassle and prob more expense if it is HMO and we would also have to do somethings to House for it to comply with regulations (it is not currently a death trap by any means btw but I’m sure it would not pass every requirement as it is) thanks, as always, for all of your replies and advice

Smodlet

I stand corrected, thank you artful and OOec and apologies for the incorrect information. Perhaps it is best to check with your council what they class as an HMO in your particular circumstance, OP. Where are the days when you could just have friends to stay without all this hoo-hah?

Teamocil

Your decision on how much to charge your friends is determined by how much the government allows you to without paying tax? Lovely.