Des Taylor & Phil Turtle, Landlord Licensing & Defence

Well said @Mick Roberts.

Absolutely loved your “brickie” illustration.

Of course as well as the punitive s24 tax there‘s also the slight matter of government both national and local totally failing to build social housing over the last 30+ years and Thatcher selling off what there was.

Just wait for all the new fines and double
Rent Repayment Orders of the upcoming. Rent Reform Legislation.... Read More

Hello Mark

Please understand that 3 persons from 2 households absolutely is an HMO and has been so defined since the Housing Act 2004

You don’t say which London Borough this is but most of them have “Additional Licensing” for 3 and 4 person HMOs and so your selective licence would be the WRONG licence and they could fine you up to £30,000 for having the wrong type of licence.

If you want to change your property to an HMO it will need to comply with all aspects of the Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 as well as, by the looks of it, an Additional HMO licence.

For completeness, in areas where the council has selective licensing but does not have an Additional HMO Licencijg scheme then 3 and 4 person HMOs would require a selective licence.

If confused, do get advice from a professional firm like Landlord Licensing & Defence - the fines are excruciating if you get it wrong... Read More

The point Igboman that you seem not to have understood is that the OP has been committing a criminal offence for two years.

The minute that OP applied for a licence and has to submit ASTs and other documents, he immediately self-incriminates as he’s giving them evidence of letting prior to the licence application. They will then use their AI system to cross reference with council tax and 20 other databases to collect evidence of the crime being committed over a two year period.

The Coincil is now the housing police. And they are trained the same way as detectives. He will then be summoned for a PACE interview when they will use their highly trained interviewers to get further unwitting admissions of guilt

It isn’t very tricky area which we help landlords navigate on a daily basis - landlords that try to penny pinch and DIY tough legal situations they are not equipped to deal with usually leads to them getting fines in the £10,000s

But probably course the OP can chance his luck….... Read More

Gary. Unfortunately you have been committing a crime for these two years under the Housing Act 2004.

Strongly recommend you get specialist representation against the council to minimise what could be a £10,000 or so fine (max of £30,000) or a criminal conviction if it goes to court.

This is one of the specialisms of Landlords Defence who can assist

(Go to landlordsdefence.co.uk and book a free 10minute diagnosis call)... Read More

The lease should be your guide which sets out the freeholder's (&hence RTM co) rights of access.

Where possibly give occupants at least 24 hours notice. In emergency attend with locksmith... Read More

DEAR ALL LANDLORDS

The government has decided that damp and mould are YOUR problem regardless of what the tenants do or don't do.

Please read your new responsibilities here. DO NOT IGNORE - the penalty fines will be astronomic.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/damp-and-mould-understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-for-rented-housing-providers/understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-of-damp-and-mould-in-the-home--2... Read More

Sorry it is a direct quote from the legislation and so must remain in sq ft as per the legislation

I did the necessary calculation for the OP... Read More

There are no minimum sizes for bedrooms in the Housing Act 2004 unless it is a flat in a licensable section257 converted building in which case the national minimum of 6.51m2 would apply.

(Note a s257 building coverted to flats is technically an HMO under the Housing Act, confusing though this is.)

The landlord and tenant act under overcrowding states these acceptable occupancies

Number of persons
110 sq. ft. or more
2
90 sq. ft. or more but less than 110 sq.ft.
1½
70 sq. ft. or more but less than 90 sq. ft.
1
50 sq. ft. or more but less than 70 sq. ft.
½

(1/2 person is child under 10yrs)

Your room is about 84sq ft so would
appear acceptable for 1 person

If you need further professional
assistance to fight this apparently nonsense by the council please contact Landlord Licensing & Defence on 0208 088 3400 or https://landlordsdefence.co.uk/contact... Read More

There's nothin' like a good old but of politician Head in Sand!... Read More

... Read More

... Read More

You may wish to think it is ridiculous but it is the law and has been since 2004!

However in relation to SA, then as long as the occupant(s) have homes elsewhere then you are correct that they can stay 'on licence' written or inferred.

Be very aware though that if a person who has no other home moves into your SA they are automatically considered by the law to be on an AST whether in writing or otherwise and that in clouds when the LL has given them a written "licence". The law says that is an AST not a licence if it is their sole residence!... Read More

It is a very difficult situation for landlords. As far as most councils are concerned operating an 'illegal' (i.e. unlicensed) HMO is only one step down from murder.

The only real protection a landlord has are regular inspections (although that is at odds with the tenants's right to quiet enjoyment)

Also a clear clause in the AST that the tenant shall not sublet nor create an HMO

And ensuring that all property is up to HMO standards particularly in respect of fire doors and alarms

Its a devilish situation for Landlords... Read More

Also see the new Fire safety responsibilities under Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 just published

https://landlordsdefence.co.uk/changes-to-fire-safety-responsibilities-under-section-156-of-the-building-safety-act-2022/... Read More

The requirements for flat doors are now

FD30S

Fit both sides and top with combined intumescent strip and cold smoke seals (brush strips)
• Fit CE marked hydraulic closers to BS EN 1154
• Fit CE marked latch to BS EN 12209
• If a lock is fitted it must be fire rated to BS EN 12209 and fitted with a thumb-turn on the inside
• Fit 3 x fire rated hinge to BS EN 1935
• Ensure that gaps to top and sides are approx. 3mm and no more than 4mm. See
manufacturer’s instructions.... Read More

It's good that a First Tier Tribunal has recognised what we all know, that councils are using licensing as a revenue generation tool.

Yes of course they have to make a case to the Secretary of State for Housing but that doesn't seem to be too hard as long as they don't try to get thee entire borough. For most they can bing it in without the DHLUC as long as they do a sham consultation in which they ask less than 0.1% of landlords and tenants.

No surprise that Nottingham brings out the old line "we're not allowed to make a profit". Well of course they're not. But after the accountants have 'adjusted' the overheads to siphon the money off Ito other accounts its very easy to not show a profit. FFS that's what any decent accounts does.

But the bit that Nottingham is carefully avoiding mentioning is that the far bigger revenue stream comes from the FINES they can impose for criminal breach of a licence condition. We had one case recently on a 2-up-2-down (not Nottingham) where shortly after issuing the licence the council inspected. They did the inspection after issuing the licence so they could no inspect with the intention of finding licence condition breaches.

Landlord was instantly fined £22,000. Property wasn't good but also not dangerous.

So never mind the £1,000 per licence. Think about all the lovely lolly from £22,000 per landlord!

Maybe a few £100s to get a professional compliance audit is actually FAR cheaper than a £22,000 fine. https://landlordsdefence.co.uk/hhsrs-risk-assessment/... Read More

In reply to Rod from iHowz.

The Rent Repayment Order is probably the biggest threat to the landlord and both Illegal eviction and harassment are automatic triggers for entitlement. There are also a plethora of No-win-no-fee merchants standing ready to take up these cases on behalf of tenants and indeed some councils employ officers solely to assist tenants make RRO claims.

Landlords can defend against RRO claims https://landlordsdefence.co.uk/rent-repayment-order/ and the amount claimed (which can be up to 12 months rent) can often be reduced however it will never be zero if the LL has committed harrasment or illegal eviction.

Other major treats to the landlord come if the property isn't licensed but should have been. Council treat this as paramount to murder (no, seriously) and will throw the book at the LL. If its an HMO, then in addition to the £15,000+ they will fine you for failure to licence. they will usually "find" at least £50,000 worth of fineable items under the HMO management regulations https://landlordsdefence.co.uk/housing-act-section-234-regulation-5-financial-penalty/

By far and away the best thing to do is
1) get your property compliant https://landlordsdefence.co.uk/hhsrs-risk-assessment/
2) get it licensed if it needs to be https://landlordsdefence.co.uk/does-my-property-need-an-hmo-licence/
3) do NOTHING that could be interpreted as harassment.
4) be aware that there are only TWO legal ways to regain possession
4a) tenant gives notice and/or surrender
4b) by an order of the court
Anything else IS an illegal evistion. End of.

It's eye wateringly expensive to get on the wrong side of all this still and as @Rod said:
"Most people starting up in less regulated industries would spend a few hundred pounds on education when they are investing [hundreds of] £000's and would follow up by maintaining their knowledge and development.

Being a LL is no longer an amateur activity. Be professional or be fined out of existence but the council's [unbelievably evil] housing police.... Read More

... Read More

@DAVID HOUGHTON

The situation you describe is an HMO the moment the relationship breaks down.

2 brothers and one ex-girlfirend + two households and 3 person = HMO

As they were renting, the property needed a selective licence from the get-go.

The second the breakup happened the landlord became liable under the HMO Management Regulations and better fire doors, fire alarms etc etc were needed.

It may have still needed a selective licence where the council had not put in place an Additional HNO Licence scheme. However if they have such an Additional scheme, the landlord now has the "wrong licence" and they will prosecute/fine for that as if he had no licence at all!... Read More

Have a read of this to understand what “the questions” are about

https://landlordsdefence.co.uk/pace-interview-under-caution/

Whether it is in person or by Q&A you’re under criminal investigation for several crimes

Get professional help ASAP and for goodness sake do not communicate with the council until you have professional help they will destroy you. See https://www.property118.com/dont-talk-to-the-council/... Read More