Concerns in rented house

clutton_2

"" Actually we have all that ...." - i am very pleased to hear it.....

top_drawer_2

thats why i'm bafflled why he doesnt just reg it! He's already done everything right ... would he need to have a extra b/room to conform or something?

Jen

bristol_pilot

Jen_L wrote: »

thats why i'm bafflled why he doesnt just reg it!

Jen

He could be pocketing the council tax.

PasturesNew

Jen_L wrote: »

thats why i'm bafflled why he doesnt just reg it! He's already done everything right ... would he need to have a extra b/room to conform or something?

Jen

Every area and every reason is different.

Some areas will judge each application and has a limit to how many there are, or perhaps where the HMOs are.

Maybe he skimped on planning permissions/building regs for the space in the roof. If the modifications look fairly recent, try doing an online search for the planning permission for a loft conversion (if the house looks like it wasn't part of the original build).

Although things look all right to you, they might not meet current building regulations or licensing criteria.

Maybe he is pocketing everything and doesn't have a commercial mortgage (BTL) in place.

Who knows. But by behaving illegally in one or two things (HMO not licensed; telling tenant to commit HB fraud), it is likely there's a whole raft of unsavoury items yet to be discovered.

Preston: http://www.preston.gov.uk/General.asp?id=SX9452-A7806B46

By their leaflet, I think you are a Category B
http://www.preston.gov.uk/Documents/General/Housing/Fact%20Sheets/HMO%20Category%20Summary%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

e.g. if for example you had one loo and one shower on the ground floor, it would break the rules as that is 2 floors from the people on the top floor.

The kitchen appears to need to be not more than one floor distant too (I bet it's on the ground floor, so wrong).

With 5 of you sharing the kitchen, a minimum of 7 power points.

I am not sure on first reading I understand the cooking requirement!
"a cooker to be provided in a shared kitchen in the following ratio: 2 rings or hot plate, grill and oven for each user; or 4 rings or hot plates, grill, oven for 3 persons sharing."

That almost sounds like 10 rings and 5 cookers, can't be right.

It says where less than 5 people, one kitchen sink. So not sure where that leads to as there are 5 of you, but if I am reading it right you should have two kitchen sinks "ratio of 1 sink : 3 occupancies in shared kitchens."

... anyway, you can read it. It puts your head in a spin! And it does seem that while the house looks quite normal, when it comes to the fact you are 5 separate people sharing one HMO on 3 floors ... there are a myriad of odd regulations to be on top of.

Space standards looks interesting too. It gives you minimum room sizes for kitchen, living, bedrooms. Even window sizes!