Suspected unlicensed HMO - advice please

[Deleted User]

I have just received a letter in the post with notice that our landlord has applied for a HMO licence - I've looked into this and I'm almost certain that they would have needed the HMO licence when we first moved in 9 months ago:

• We are four separate individuals living in one property (4 households sharing facilities)
• The property falls under the Selective Licensing scheme area introduced by my Borough in 2016.
• I have checked the council's public register and the property is not listed as having a licence (I will obviously need to confirm this with the council).

I am now wondering how to proceed as no-one else in my house is aware of this.

The property is decent and a good location so I would not want to move, however I am worried about having lived in accommodation which is falling below the legal requirements.

How should I approach this situation? 
Should I try and approach the landlord/agency point out the offence?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Phoenix72

So, one illegal act merits blackmail which is also illegal.

[Deleted User]

also just to add when the licence notice came in the post today it had the conditions attached to it and one of them states that bedrooms must have a minimum of 3 wall mounted double electrical sockets - my room has one so this clearly does not satisfy the conditions.

anselld

You can apply for a rent repayment order ...

   https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/housing_conditions/private_sector_enforcement/rent_repayment_orders

... but do you really want that hassle when you have not been disadvantaged in any way and the L is already rectifying the situation anyway.

[Deleted User]

Phoenix72 said:

So, one illegal act merits blackmail which is also illegal.

well not blackmail but just settling out of court.

noitsnotme

[Deleted User] said:

Phoenix72 said:

So, one illegal act merits blackmail which is also illegal.

well not blackmail but just settling out of court.

If it walks like a duck, etc, etc…

propertyrental

Well you could try blackmail sorry - settling out of court - but anselld has linked you to the proper way to proceed. You may well get  a rent rebate, but might also end up having to move eg if the LA close down the property, or the LL finds a way to evict an undesirable tenant (hard if you have a fixed term contract).

Grumpy_chap

[Deleted User] said:

I have just received a letter in the post with notice that our landlord has applied for a HMO licence - I've looked into this and I'm almost certain that they would have needed the HMO licence when we first moved in 9 months ago:

• We are four separate individuals living in one property (4 households sharing facilities)
• The property falls under the Selective Licensing scheme area introduced by my Borough in 2016.
• I have checked the council's public register and the property is not listed as having a licence (I will obviously need to confirm this with the council).

I am now wondering how to proceed as no-one else in my house is aware of this and I don't want to risk being evicted for taking action against what is a criminal offence.

The property is decent and a good location so I would not want to move, however it does seem unfair that I have been paying through the nose (as a student) for accommodation which is falling below the legal requirements and therefore it would obviously be nice to receive some rent repayment - 9 months' rent is a substantial sum for me.

How should I approach this situation? 
Should I try and approach the landlord/agency to negotiate with them and point out the offence and basically suggest I won't take it any further if we can reach an agreement? or is this not a good idea?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Why did you select this property to live in if you are "paying through the nose"?
Or are you simply paying the market rent for the property in the location?

You say the property is decent and in a good location so you would not want to move. 
I assume, also, the other three households are people you find sufficiently amenable to share the common parts with.
Also assume the LL is OK to work with on a day-to-day basis.

Did you check the online register for whether the property was registered as HMO when / before first moving in?
Or were you only prompted to do so by this letter that arrived?

You could report this to the Local Authority who could close down the HMO with immediate effect (so you move).
OR the LA may just ignore the complaint since an application to licence is in progress and will regularise everything.
Reporting this could get the LLs back up and you may find less tolerable "OK to work with" in the future.
You could ask the LL to give you some money.
The LL could decide to commence eviction proceedings against difficult tenants.

If the property is essentially good and safe, you may have legal grounds for some action which could result in your forced move out of the property.  The pragmatic thing might be to ignore the letter and just carry on enjoying the property.

I assume the letter was simply a notification of the license application and did not require any action on your part.

BonaDea

Yes, I think this is an over-reaction by the OP, and one that is not conducive to a co-operative working relationship with the LL in the future.   This is not necessarily a rogue LL, possibly just one that didn't know about the licensing scheme - my borough when it introduced its licensing scheme made absolutely no attempt to identify LLs and alert them to the scheme's existence, and the LLs in my building only found out about it by accident.  The OP's only complaint seems to be that the let 'fell below the legal requirements' - not that there's anything actually wrong with the flat - and it seems he or she is just jumping at what they think is an opportunity to screw some money out of the LL.  If a tenant tried to pull this stunt with me, I'd have them out as soon as I could.  I'm fussy about who I do business with, and basic decency is important for both parties to the agreement.

[Deleted User]

I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise on a money saving forum that OPs concern is how the situation can be worked to financial advantage.

The unlicensed property may be unsafe for fire, electrics and gas. The implication of  risk is basically presented by OP as of no actual concern, vs the focus on an emerging financial opportunity!

Grumpy_chap

As I read the OP, the property is good and concerns about fire / safety non-compliance are not present.  The licensing will, presumably, include an inspection on these points by the LA so will work in the OP's favour from that regard.

The only comment from the OP is a technical one about how many plug sockets are available but, it would seem, the available sockets are sufficient and it is only paperwork landing that has created a query.