HMO Tenancy

Housebuy12345

Three stories?

Cakeguts

It is an HMO. The household bit applies to people who are unrelated so if they were all brothers it wouldn't be an HMO but unrelated people sharing makes it an HMO. Some councils class an HMO as more than two unrelated households as an HMO. So a flat with 3 bedrooms occupied by 3 unrelated sharers is an HMO.



Contact your local council about this and see what their rules are.

anselld

00ec25 wrote: »

not if they are classed as one household
just because they are unrelated to each other does not make them 5 households if the property was let to them as a single group

i agree however that a contract which states it is an HMO is an HMO... which clearly means the wrong contract document has been used if they were "told" they are a single household

so, on paper, they live in an HMO. how much ammunition that gives OP to cause trouble over whatever is actually vexing them remains to be seen

"Household" is defined in section 258 of the Housing Act 2004 and it has nothing to do with the contract either way. You cannot form a "household" by having a joint contract and likewise you cannot create an HMO by contract if the occupants are a single household.

The Housing Act definition of HMO is entirely defined by the living arrangements and relationship of the occupants so "five unrelated sharers" is always a licenseable HMO.

Wanderingpomm

Five unrelated people make it a HMO. The type of tenancy is irreverent

Housebuy12345

I see storeys mentioned quite a bit

jgos96

It’s a three storey house, the estate agents have just started installing more plug sockets into each room and they’re doing a terrible job of it, personally I feel that it’s definitely not up to standard, the landlord also has a padlock on the living room as he uses that as ‘storage’ leaving one tenant with a tiny box room. Overall we’re not particularly happy with how the HMO renovations have been handled especially as it has taken them almost a year to even begin them.

Nefeliblu

The property requires an HMO licence
In October last year there was an extension to mandatory licensing and the 3 storey requirement was removed.
A mandatory condition was also added that no bedroom can be less than 6.5m2 so check the size of the box room.
It is a legal requirement that the landlord has an EICR (elec condition report) carried out once every 5 years by a qualified electrician, this would be submitted with any application for a licence.

System

Housebuy12345 wrote: »

I see storeys mentioned quite a bit

Current legislation applies to all properties now and not just 3 storey ones

G_M

It's almost certainly an HMO - contacting the LA Housing Dept would verify and regularise this.


But you need to be clear what your objective is. It is quite likely that raising this matter formally will result in eviction, since the property probably does not meet HMO standards so will be closed down.


Yes, you might get rent back, and that might be your objective, but consider the bigger picture before taking action.

Housebuy12345

Are there built in fire alarms and extinguishers?