Council car parking rip off for HMO – Help!

Council car parking rip off for HMO – Help!

7:59 AM, 24th March 2017, About 8 years ago 14

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I’ve just been informed by my local council that I need on street parking permit for each tenant in my HMO at a cost of £350 per permit instead of the £5 a year the tenants could get for there own vehicle.

The tenants for my property are all contractors working in the local area with a high turn over of people. Also if a tenant leaves with a permit it wold be another £350 for a replacement this would mean asking each tenant for a £350 deposit.

The council say this is because an HMO IS A business.

How are they able to do this?

Alan


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Yvonne Francis

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12:12 PM, 27th March 2017, About 8 years ago

I've just looked up Hartlepool's Council website on parking and its says a business can apply for two permits at a cost of £350 each. However this begs the question if a HMO is a business. If Alan you ran this as a business then you would pay National Insurance on the income. Although renting in some instances can be a business in most cases the income is classed as investment income and therefore not a business.
http://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/national-insurance-manual/nim23800
http://www.property118.com/am-i-self-employed/94122/

In my experience a HMO is classed as residential and residents are entitled to apply for parking permits. Even if your Council were right then a HMO would require more than two permits if each tenant required one and that would be unfair on your tenants.

I've owned two HMO's for nearly 40 years and I have to deal with a particularly draconian Council in an area you would almost shoot yourself in the foot to get a disability parking badge! but I've never had any mention of this. I think they are wrong in considering you a business and not treating your tenants as residents.

My advice is to keep on questioning them. Many many years ago my Council demanded all sorts of unnecessary works and after a long battle they backed down. They do go over the top and try things on.

Alan Griffiths

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12:26 PM, 27th March 2017, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Yvonne Francis" at "27/03/2017 - 12:12":

Hi Yvonne
You are right about the web site statement for new charges but my HMO caters for workmen/contractors visiting the are to work and not DSS SO I HAV A HIGH TURN OVER OF PEOPLE SO EVEN AFTER 4 permits every tennents would have to pay a parking permit charge of £30 an for someone only staying for 4 /5days a £30 charge would not be acceptable so either way the council are going to damage the small businesses in the area but I will keep on fighting.

Yvonne Francis

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14:28 PM, 27th March 2017, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Alan Griffiths" at "27/03/2017 - 12:26":

This reply is a bit different from your original post when you pointed out YOU would have to pay £350 for every tenant. It's just a fact of life that in cities parking is expense. I imagine it would cost more than £30 to park in a car park for 4/5 days, so really this should be calculated in work peoples expenses and they should not expect special rates over what work people pay who have to park doing other jobs.

Ingrid Bacsa

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17:48 PM, 27th March 2017, About 8 years ago

Yes they do go ott - but "they" is likely to be someone employed from the dole queue who has no experience as a landlord - and not long out of short trousers. These jobsworths wear an invisible badge and apply the rules without common sense or discretion!

My tenants are not mentally disabled - they are grown ups who will inform me if they sense a hazard in my property - and go elsewhere if I failed to fix it! They don't need a 'nanny'. !

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